Bi ismillahir rahmanir raheem
assalamu alaikum
Seeing Allah in dreams,
waking, and the afterlife
Answered by Shaykh Muhammad ibn Adam al-Kawthari
Answer:
In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,
The position of
the mainstream Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama�ah (Asha�ira and
Maturidiyya) is that the vision of Allah Most High with the eyes of the head is
rationally (aqlan) possible and that the believers will be blessed with this
vision in the hereafter.
This vision,
however, will be without encompassment (ihata) or delimitation (tahdid) within
any given limit (hadd), whether from the front, the back, above, below, right,
or left. Allah Most High will be seen (unlike any material being) not in place
or in a direction so far as being confronted, nor by the conjunction of the
rays of light, nor by a certain definite distance between the one who sees and
Allah.
In other words,
the believers will see Allah Most High in Paradise
without our specifying how and in a manner Allah knows best. It is impossible
and wrong to draw analogy for the unseen from the seen. This vision of Allah is
certainly unlike the vision of material things in this world, for vision in
this world requires the seen to be in a place, direction, at a specific
distance, etc, whilst the vision of Allah Most High in the hereafter will be
free from such restrictions. Allah Most High will enable the believers to see
His esteemed self. (Culled from Mulla Ali al-Qari�s Sharh Fiqh
al-Akbar P: 245-246, Taftazani�s Sharh
al-Aqa�id al-Nasafiyya P: 131, Nuh Ali Suleyman�s
commentary on Jawhara al-Tawhid P: 113 and
Bajuri�s commentary on the Jawhara P: 114)
The above is the
position that the Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama�ah scholars have always
maintained. The Mu�tazila and some other groups such as the Shi�a
held that Allah Most High could not be seen at all, even on the Day of
Resurrection or in Paradise. They interpreted
certain verses of the Qur�an erroneously, rejected some sound hadiths
claiming that such vision necessitated a physical body for Allah and a
direction, which He Most High is free from. However, the position of the Ahl
al-Sunnah wa al-Jama�ah is supported by many evidences of the
Qur�an and Sunnah, of which some are presented below:
1) Allah
Most High says:
�Some
faces, that day, will beam (in brightness and beauty), looking towards their
Lord.�(Surah al-Qiyama, V: 22-23)
2) Allah
Most High says regarding the Prophet Sayyiduna Musa (Peace be upon him):
�When
Moses came to the place appointed by Us, and his Lord addressed him, He said:
�O my Lord! Show (Yourself) to me, that I may look upon You.� Allah
said: �By no means can you see Me (direct); But look upon the mount; if
it abides in its place, then you shall see Me�� (Surah
al-A�raf, V: 143)
In the above
verse, Sayyiduna Musa (peace be upon him) requested to see Allah Most High. Had
the vision of Allah been impossible, the request of Sayyiduna Musa (peace be
upon him) would have been out of ignorance or foolishness or he would be making
a request for the impossible, whereas all the Prophets of Allah are far removed
from such things. Secondly, Allah Most High connected the vision with the
abiding of the mountain firm in its place, which is something that is possible
in itself. Hence, that which is connected to the possible is also possible.
(Taftazani and Nasafi, Sharh al-Aqa�id
al-Nasafiyya, P: 127-128)
3) Allah
Most High says:
�There
will be for them therein (in Paradise) all
that they wish, and more besides in
Our presence.�(Surah Qaf, V: 35)
The Messenger of
Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) interpreted �more�
saying that it referred to the vision of Allah Most High. (Narrated by Muslim
and others)
4) Allah
Most High says regarding the disbelievers:
�Verily,
from their Lord, that Day, will they be veiled.�(Surah al-Mutaffifin, V:
15)
This verse
explains that the disbelievers will be deprived from the vision of Allah; hence
by contrast, it implies that the believers will be blessed with this vision.
Thus, Sayyiduna Imam Shafi�i (Allah have mercy on him) said:
�Allah
Most High�s veiling Himself from a people (disbelievers) due to His
displeasure indicates that a group (believers) will see Him due to His
pleasure. By Allah, had Muhammad ibn Idrees (Shafi�i himself) not been
convinced that he will see his Lord in the hereafter, he would not have
worshipped him in this world!� (Bajuri, Tuhfat
al-Murid)
5)
Sayyiduna Abu Hurayra (Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the people
(companions) said: �O Messenger of Allah! Shall we see our Lord on the
Day of Resurrection?� He replied: �Do you have any doubt in seeing
the full moon on a clear (not cloudy) night?� They replied: �No, O
Messenger of Allah� He said: �Do you have any doubt in seeing the
sun when there are no clouds?� They replied in the negative. He said:
�You will see Allah (your Lord) in the same way�.� (Sahih
al-Bukhari, no: 773)
6)
Sayyiduna Jarir ibn Abd Allah (Allah be pleased with him) narrates that we were
sitting in the company of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give
him peace) on a fourteenth night (of the lunar month), and he looked at the
(full) moon and said: �You will see your Lord as you see this moon. You
have no trouble in looking at it. So, whoever can should not miss the offering
of prayers before sunrise (Fajr prayer) and before sunset (Asr prayer).�
Then the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) recited:
�And celebrate the praises of your Lord, before the
rising of the sun and before (its) setting.� (Sahih
al-Bukhari, no: 4570 and others)
7)
Moreover, the occurrence of the vision of Allah has been narrated from
Sayyiduna Abu Bakr, Sayyiduna Huzayfa ibn al-Yaman, Sayyiduna Abd Allah ibn
Mas�ud, Sayyiduna Abd Allah ibn Abbas, Sayyiduna Abu Musa
al-Ash�ari and many others (Allah be pleased with them all). No Companion
(sahabi) of the Messenger of Allah is reported to have rejected the vision of
Allah; hence there is complete consensus of the Companions on this. (Sharh
al-Aqa�id al-Nasafiyya, P: 131 & Tuhfat al-Murid Sharh al-Jawhara, P:
115)
As far as the
verse �Visions comprehend Him not, but He
comprehends (all) vision� (6: 139) is concerned, it refers to
encompassing Allah Most High with our vision. Vision and encompassment are two different
things, the latter is rejected in this verse, in that the visions of humans
will not be able to encompass Allah most High (even in the hereafter), whilst
the former (vision) has been proven in many verses of the Qur�an and many
Hadiths. (ibid)
The
vision of Allah Most High in this world
The above few
evidences were relating to the possibility of seeing Allah and the believers
seeing Him Most High in the hereafter. As far as seeing Allah Most High in this
world is concerned, there are two situations here. Seeing Him whist awake and
secondly seeing Him in sleep.
a) Seeing
Allah whilst awake
There is, more
or less, a consensus amongst the Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama�ah scholars
that, though logically possible, nobody is able to see Allah Most High in this
world in the state of being awake. However, there is a difference of opinion as
to whether the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) saw
Allah Most High in the night of ascension (me�raj) or not.
The renowned
Hadith scholar and Hanafi jurist, Mulla Ali al-Qari (Allah have mercy on him)
states:
�There is
an agreement among the Muslims (scholars) that no believer will see Allah Most
High with his eyes in this world. The scholars only differed with regards to
the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) seeing Allah
during his ascension to the heavens.� (Sharh Fiqh al-Akbar, P: 354)
Mulla Ali
al-Qari then said, there is a consensus on the fact that the vision of Allah
cannot take place in this world for other than the Messenger of Allah (Allah
bless him & give him peace). He quoted Ibn al-Salah and Abu Shama saying
that the one who claims to have seen Allah whilst being awake will not be
believed, for this (vision of Allah whilst being awake) is something that even
Sayyiduna Musa (peace be upon him) was prevented from when Allah Most High said
to him: �By no means can you see Me�.
However, there is a difference of opinion whether this vision occurred for the
Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace). (ibid)
Some scholars
went to the extent of considering such a person, who claims to have seen Allah
whilst awake, a Kafir, although most scholars were precautions and did not
consider such a person to be an outright Kafir. However, there is no doubt that
this person will be considered to have severely deviated. (ibid) Hence, no
individual (besides the Messenger of Allah) is able to see Allah Most High
whilst being awake in this mortal world.
As far as the
Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) is concerned, the
Companions differed as to whether he (Allah bless him & give him peace) saw
Allah in the night of Isra� and Me�raj or not. Sayyiduna Abd Allah
ibn Abbas and others (Allah be pleased with them all) related that he did,
whilst Sayyida A�isha, Sayyiduna Abd Allah ibn Mas�ud and others
(Allah be pleased with them all) were of the opinion that he did not see Allah
with the eyes of his head during his ascension to the heavens. As a result, the
scholars of the Ahl al-Sunnah also have conflicting views on this issue.
Imam al-Bukhari
relates that Sayyiduna Abd Allah ibn Abbas (Allah be pleased with him) said
regarding the statement of Allah: �And We granted the vision
(Ascension to the heavens) which We showed you, but as a trial for men��
(17.60): He said: �The sights which the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless
him & give him peace) was shown on the night he was taken to Bayt al-Maqdis
(i.e. Jerusalem)
were actual sights, (not dreams). And the cursed tree (mentioned) in the
Qur�an is the tree of Zaqqum.� (Sahih al-Bukhari, no: 3675)
Imam Tirmidhi
has also related some narrations from Abd Allah ibn Abbas (Allah be pleased
with him) wherein he states that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him &
give him peace) did see his Lord in the night of Isra� and Me�raj.
(See: Sunan Tirmidhi, chapter on the
commentary of the Qur�an, Surah al-Najm)
On the other
hand, Sayyida A�isha (Allah be pleased with her) has rigorously denied
that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) saw Allah
Most High with the eyes of his head. The following is the narration expressing
her viewpoint:
Imam al-Bukhari
(Allah have mercy on him) narrates from Masruq that the latter said: �I
said to A�isha: �O my mother! Did Muhammad (Allah bless him &
give him peace) see his Lord?� She replied: �My hair stands on end
because of what you said. Have you no idea of three things? Whoever tells them
to you is lying. Whosoever tells you that Muhammad (Allah bless him & give
him peace) saw his Lord, is lying.� She then recited: �Visions comprehend Him not, but He comprehends (all) vision. He is the
Subtle, the Aware� and �And it is
not fitting for a man that Allah should speak to him except by inspiration, or
from behind a veil�. (Secondly), whosoever tells you that he
knows what shall happen tomorrow is lying.� She then recited: �No soul knows what it will earn tomorrow� And
(thirdly) whosoever tells you that he (Allah bless him & give him peace)
concealed something, is lying.� She then recited: �O Messenger. Proclaim the (message) which has been sent to you from
your Lord� �However, he (Allah bless him & give him
peace) did see (the angel) Jibra�il (peace be upon him) in his actual
form twice.� (Sahih al-Bukhari, no: 4574).
Some scholars
explained that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace)
had a vision with the eyes of the heart, and not with the eyes of his head.
This is elucidated by Ibn Abbas� other narrations in Sahih Muslim
and elsewhere where he said: �He saw him with his heart.� Hence, in
this way, the two opinions may be reconciled. (Ibn Hajar, Fath al-Bari,
8/430)
Imam al-Bajuri
(Allah have mercy on him) said that the preferred position according to the
Ulama is that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) did
see his Lord in the night of al-Isra� and al-Me�raj with the eyes
of his head. The Hadith of Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (Allah be pleased with him) will
be given preference over the position of Sayyida A�isha (Allah be pleased
with her), as the principle states �Affirmation (ithbat) takes precedence
over the negation (nafi)�. Hence, the position of Ibn Abbas and others
(Allah be pleased with them all) will be given preference and it will be said
that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) was blessed
with the vision of his Lord in the night of al-Isra� and al-Me�raj.
(Bajuri, Tuhfat al-Murid, P: 117-118)
The best
statement on the issue is of Shaykh Muhyi al-Din ibn Arabi (Allah have mercy on
him). He said: This world is that which is below the heavens and anything above
the heavens is considered to be part of the next world (akhira). Hence, the
vision of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) will
not be considered a vision of this world; rather it is a vision of the next
world, and there is no disagreement concerning the vision of the hereafter.
Hence, this vision of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him
peace) was also a type of the vision of the hereafter. (See: Ma�arif al-Qur�an, 3/412)
b) Seeing
Allah in a dream
As far as the
vision of Allah Most High in a dream is concerned, Imam al-Taftazani (Allah
have mercy on him) states in his commentary of Imam Nasafi�s al-Aqa�id:
�As far as
the vision of Allah in sleep is concerned, it is something that has been
related from many predecessors (salaf). And there is no doubt that this is a
type of observation by the heart rather than the eye.� (Sharh
al-Aqa�id al-Nasafiyya, P: 135)
Mulla Ali
al-Qari (Allah have mercy on him) states in his renowned Sharh Fiqh al-Akbar:
�The
majority of the scholars are of the view that the vision of Allah Most High in
sleep is possible, without any given description of modality (kayfiyya),
direction (jiha) or quiddity (hay�a). It is recorded that Imam Abu Hanifa
(Allah have mercy on him) said: �I saw Allah Most High 99 times whilst
asleep.� Then he saw Him the hundredth time also, the story of which is
long and not feasible to be mentioned here. It is recorded that Imam Ahmad
(Allah have mercy on him) said: �I saw Allah Most High in a dream, I
said: �O Lord! How is it possible to achieve closeness to You?� He
replied: �By the recitation of my speech (Qur�an).� I said:
�O Lord! Recitation with understanding or (even) without understanding?�
He replied: �With or without understanding.� It is also narrated
from the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) that he
said: �I saw my Lord in my sleep.� Hence, the vision of Allah in
sleep is recorded from many predecessors (salaf) and it is a type of observation
by the heart observed by noble people�� (Sharh Fiqh al-Akbar, P:
356-357)
Imam al-Bajuri
(Allah have mercy on him) states:
�As far as
seeing Allah Most High in sleep, it is narrated from Qadhi Iyadh that there is
no difference of opinion regarding its occurrence and truth, for the Satan
cannot take the form of Allah Most High like he cannot take the form of the
Prophets (peace be upon them)�.. (Tuhfat al-Murid, P: 118)
The
above-mentioned few texts of the scholars indicate clearly that Allah Most High
can be (and has been) seen in a dream. It is something that His noble and pious
servants are blessed with, and one cannot deny its occurrence. Indeed some
Ulama did deny the possibility of seeing Allah in sleep, but that is a minority
position not accepted by the majority of the scholars.
Imam al-Bajuri
(Allah have mercy on him) has mentioned some additional notes regarding the
vision of Allah in sleep in his commentary of Jawhara
al-Tahid.
He states that, if
one sees Allah in a manner that is not impossible for Allah, then one has
surely seen Him. However, if one sees Him in a form that is impossible for Him
such as seeing Him in a form of a specific individual, then that is not Allah
rather it is the creation of Allah, and the dream will need to be interpreted
by those qualified to do so. Some scholars said that even in such a case, one
did actually see Allah, but the form seen is not the reality of Allah; rather,
it is reflecting the mind of the one having the vision. (Tuhfat
al-Murid Sharh Jawhara al-Tawhid, P: 118)
Imam Ibn Sirin
(Allah have mercy on him), a major classical scholar considered to be a master
in the science of interpreting dreams, states in his renowned book, The Interpretation of Dreams: (This book incidentally covers
over 900 dreams with their meanings explained. It explains what facts are
to be taken into account when interpreting a dream, when is a dream
regarded as true or false, etc.)
�Sayyiduna
Daniyal (peace be upon him) relates that if a believer was to see Allah Most
High in his dream unequalled and incomparable, as is related in the verses of
the Qur�an and in the Hadiths, he will be blessed with the magnificent
sight of Allah Most High (in the hereafter) and his needs will also be
fulfilled. If an individual was to see a dream in a manner that he was standing
before Allah Most High and that He Most High was watching him, then the dream
is a sign of his piety and spiritual well-being. He will be chosen for
forgiveness, and if he is sinful he will repent.� (Ta�bir
al-Ru�ya, P: 67)
Imam Ibn Sirin
then goes on to mention many types of dreams in which one sees Allah Most High
and gives their interpretations. For example, if one sees that Allah Most High
is talking secretly with one, then this means one is close to Allah Most High.
If one sees that Allah Most High is advising one and giving one Nasiha, then
this alludes to the fact that Allah Most High is not completely happy with
one�s actions. A glad tiding from Allah is a sign of His pleasure and
admonition from Allah is a sign of His wrath and anger (ibid). For more
details, one may refer to Imam Ibn Sirin�s above-mentioned book, but one
should consult a reliable scholar of knowledge, piety and wisdom before coming
to any sort of conclusion.
To sum up, the
vision of Allah Most High is rationally possible and the believers will be
blessed with this vision in the hereafter. However, no one is able to see Allah
in this world whilst in a state of being awake besides the Messenger of Allah
(Allah bless him & give him peace), and regarding the Messenger of Allah
(Allah bless him & give him peace) too, there is a difference of opinion
amongst the Companions (Allah be pleased with them all). As far as seeing Allah
in sleep is concerned, this is possible and is related from many pious servants
of Allah, saints and scholars.
And Allah knows
best
Muhammad ibn
Adam al-Kawthari
Darul Iftaa, Leicester, UK
http://www.daruliftaa.com/ - www.daruliftaa.com
------------- Rasul Allah (sallah llahu alaihi wa sallam) said: "Whoever knows himself, knows his Lord" and whoever knows his Lord has been given His gnosis and nearness.
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