Responding to the contradiction in the Qur’an regarding seeing God - the Almighty - with the eyes

 Content of the doubt:

Some skeptics imagine that there is a contradiction between His statement - the Most High: (Some faces, that Day, will be radiant (22) (Al-Qiyamah), and His statement - the Most High: (No! They will be veiled from their Lord, that Day (15)) (Al-Mutaffifin), and His statement - the Most High: (No vision can grasp Him, but He grasps all vision. He is the Subtle, the Acquainted (103) (Al-An`am). They ask: How does the Qur’an state in one place that it is possible to see God Almighty with the eyes, while denying that in another place? They consider this contradiction, as they say, to be evidence of the humanity of the Qur’an.

The two faces of invalidating the doubt:

1) The believers’ vision of their Lord in the Hereafter is an established fact. As for the meaning of the Almighty’s saying: “No vision can grasp Him,” it means: they cannot encompass Him and His essence, glory be to Him, or they cannot grasp Him in this world. The lack of vision in this world does not contradict the vision in the Hereafter, or the verse is from the general but specific.

2) Scholars differed about the truth of the Prophet - may God bless him and grant him peace - seeing God - the Almighty - on the Night of the Isra and Mi'raj. Some of them confirmed this, and some of them denied it. The most likely opinion is that the Prophet's seeing God is confirmed.

Details:

First: The truth about believers seeing their Lord in the afterlife:

The believers’ vision of their Lord - the Almighty - is an indisputable truth. However, misunderstanding and malice of heart[1] lead their owner to deny this and stop at the apparent meaning of the verses. Regarding the reality of the vision, Dr. Abu al-Nur al-Hadidi says: The believers will see their Lord in the Hereafter, as stated in the verses, including the Almighty’s saying: (Some faces, that Day, will be radiant (22) Looking at their Lord (23)) (Al-Qiyamah), and the Almighty’s saying: (For those who do good is the best [reward] and more) (Yunus: 26), and the best [reward] is Paradise, and the more is looking at the face of the Noble God, and the Almighty’s saying: (No! Indeed, from their Lord, that Day, they will be veiled (15)) (Al-Mutaffifin), and this is regarding the disbelievers, so it is understood that the believers are not veiled from their Lord. And as indicated by the authentic hadiths of our Prophet - may God bless him and grant him peace - including what was reported on the authority of Suhaib on the authority of the Prophet - may God bless him and grant him peace - who said: “When the people of Paradise enter Paradise, God Almighty will say: Do you want anything more? They will say: Did You not make our faces white? Did You not admit us into Paradise and save us from the Fire? He will say: Then the veil will be lifted, and they will not be given anything more beloved to them than looking at their Lord, the Almighty and Majestic.”[2]

He who claims that none of His creation can see God Almighty, and that seeing Him is impossible rationally, is mistaken. This is because seeing, according to them, depends on the rays connecting to the seen, and requires that the seen be in a direction and facing the one seeing. All of this is not permissible for God Almighty.

Their doubts are answered by what the people of truth have said, that seeing is a power that God Almighty places in His creation, and it does not require the connection of rays, nor the opposite of what is seen, nor anything else. However, it is customary for some of us to see one another by virtue of that being the case, not by way of stipulation. Just as seeing God, the Almighty, does not require establishing a direction for Him, the Exalted, above that. Rather, the believers see Him in no direction, as they know.

Those who relied on the connection of rays to the visible, and its being in a direction so that it can be seen, came up with two opinions, both of which are wrong:

1. They interpreted the words of God Almighty: (Some faces, that Day, will be radiant (22) Looking at their Lord (23)) (Al-Qiyamah), to mean: waiting, and that the believers are waiting for what they will have from God of reward and blessing. This interpretation is wrong; because it is not said: He looked at something, in the sense of: He waited, and the saying of the speaker: I looked at so-and-so is nothing but seeing with the eye, and if they meant waiting they would say: I looked at him, not I looked at him.

2. As for their adherence to the noble verse, which is: “No vision can grasp Him” (Al-An’am: 103), on the basis that perception is seeing, the verse denies that vision can be seen by the eyes of God - the Almighty - and this is a mistake if it is taken absolutely; since the meaning of His statement: “No vision can grasp Him” is taken in one of the following ways:

The first aspect: denying the comprehension of the essence:

It is responded to these people that the perception denied in the verse is seeing with encompassing the essence, as for seeing in general, the verse does not indicate its denial, rather it is proven by the verses of the Qur’an, the authentic hadiths, and the agreement of the people of the Sunnah and the community on that, so the meaning of: “No vision can grasp Him” is: it cannot encompass Him, just as the Almighty knows Him, and the creation does not encompass Him with knowledge, as in the Almighty’s statement about Pharaoh: “Until, when drowning overtook him” (Yunus: 90), meaning: it encompassed him from every side.

It is known that the negation of the specific does not entail the negation of the general, so the negation of perception does not entail the negation of absolute vision, as God Almighty will be seen by the believers in the afterlife, but they will not perceive His essence.

The second aspect: The eyes cannot perceive Him in this world:

It does not contradict seeing in the afterlife, and seeing the Almighty Creator in this world is permissible rationally, because everything that exists can be seen rationally, and Moses’ (peace be upon him) asking about it is evidence of its permissibility, since no prophet is ignorant of what is permissible and what is forbidden to his Lord.

The third aspect: What some scholars have said, that the verse is from the general specific:

The meaning of: (No vision can grasp Him) (Al-An’am: 103) is that all visions cannot grasp Him. This is general and specific to what has been proven of the believers seeing God - the Almighty - in the Hereafter [3].

Second: Scholars differ on the truth of the Prophet’s - may God bless him and grant him peace - seeing God - the Almighty - on the Night of Isra and Mi’raj:

As for the occurrence of the vision in this world, there is a difference of opinion regarding it. Judge Iyadh - may God have mercy on him - said: The predecessors and successors differed: Did our Prophet - may God bless him and grant him peace - see his Lord on the Night of the Isra’? Aisha - may God be pleased with her - denied it, as it appears in Sahih Muslim.

It was narrated on the authority of Masruq that he said: “I was reclining with Aisha, and she said: O Abu Aisha, there are three things, whoever speaks of one of them has greatly slandered God [4], I said: What are they? She said: Whoever claims that Muhammad - may God bless him and grant him peace - saw his Lord has greatly slandered God. He said: I was reclining, then I sat up and said: O Mother of the Believers, give me time[5] and do not rush me. Did not God Almighty say: (And he certainly saw him on the clear horizon (23) (At-Takwir), and He said: (And he certainly saw him on another descent (13)) (An-Najm), so she said: I am the first of this nation to ask the Messenger of God - may God bless him and grant him peace - about that, so he said: “It is only Gabriel, I have not seen him in the form in which he was created except on these two occasions. I saw him descending from the sky, his great creation filling the space between the sky and the earth.” She said: Have you not heard that God says: (No vision can grasp Him, but He grasps all vision. He is the Subtle, the Acquainted (103) (Al-An`am), and have you not heard that God says:) And it is not for a human being that God should speak to him except by revelation or from behind a veil or by sending a messenger to reveal by His permission what He wills. Indeed, He is Most High, Most Wise (51)) (Shura)?!

She said: “Whoever claims that the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, concealed anything from the Book of God has committed a great slander against God, and God says: ‘O Messenger, announce that which has been revealed to you from your Lord. And if you do not, then you have not conveyed His message’ (Al-Ma’idah: 67). She said: ‘Whoever claims that he will inform you of what will happen tomorrow has committed a great slander against God, and God says: ‘Say: No one in the heavens or the earth knows the unseen except God’ (Al-Naml: 65).”[6]

Aisha, may God be pleased with him, differed from Ibn Abbas, may God be pleased with him, from the Companions, as he said that our Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, saw his Lord with his eyes[7], and it was reported from him: “He saw Him with his heart twice”[8].

So how can we reconcile the hadith of Aisha and the hadith of Ibn Abbas?

Al-Nawawi prefers the view of Ibn Abbas, and responds to the two verses that Aisha relied on, saying: The most correct view according to most scholars is that the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, saw his Lord with his own eyes on the night of the Isra’, based on the hadith of Ibn Abbas and others. Proof of this can only be obtained by hearing it from the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace. This is something that should not be doubted.

Then Aisha - may God be pleased with her - did not deny the vision with a hadith from the Messenger of God - may God bless him and grant him peace - and if she had had a hadith about it, she would have mentioned it. Rather, she relied on deduction from the verses, and the answer to it is explained as follows:

As for Aisha’s argument based on the words of God Almighty: “No vision can grasp Him” (Al-An’am: 103), the answer is clear, because grasping means encompassing, and God Almighty cannot be encompassed. If the text negates encompassing, it does not necessarily negate seeing without encompassing.

As for her argument - may God be pleased with her - based on the words of God Almighty: “It is not for a human being that God should speak to him except by revelation or from behind a veil or by sending a messenger to reveal, by His permission, what He wills. Indeed, He is Most High and Wise (51))” (Ash-Shura); the answer to it is from several aspects:

One of them: It is not necessary for the vision to have speech at the time of vision, so it is permissible for the vision to have occurred without speech.

Second: It is general and specific to the evidence presented above.

Third: What some scholars have said: What is meant by revelation is speech without an intermediary. This is what this speaker said, even though it is possible, but the majority are of the opinion that what is meant by revelation here is inspiration and seeing in a dream, and both of them are called revelation.

As for His, the Most High, saying: (Or from behind a veil) (Ash-Shura: 51), Al-Wahidi and others said: Its meaning is: He does not speak to them aloud, rather they hear His speech - the Most High - from where they do not see Him. What is meant is not that there is a veil separating one place from another, and indicating the specification of what is veiled, so it is like what is heard from behind a veil where the speaker is not seen. [9]

Conclusion:

It is proven by Sharia and reason that seeing God - the Almighty - in the afterlife is a reality that is not disputed among scholars. This is what the verses of the Holy Qur’an, the hadiths of the Prophet - may God bless him and grant him peace - and the consensus of scholars from the past and present have confirmed.

Scholars have interpreted the words of God Almighty: “No vision can grasp Him” (Al-An’am: 103) in several ways, including that:

- The vision is truly fixed, without encompassing the essence of God - the Almighty - so everything that comes to a person’s mind about the essence of God - the Almighty - is the opposite of Him: (There is nothing like Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing (11)) (Ash-Shura).

- Sight cannot perceive God - the Almighty - in this world, and this does not contradict seeing Him in the Hereafter.

Some scholars believe that the verse is a general and specific verse, meaning that not all eyes can perceive Him. This is a general and specific verse, as it is proven that the believers will see Him in the afterlife.

Scholars differed about the truth of the Prophet’s (peace and blessings of God be upon him) seeing God Almighty on the Night of the Isra’ and Mi’raj. One group denies this vision, and they cite as evidence a hadith of Lady Aisha (may God be pleased with her) that denies it. Another group confirms the vision as true, and among them are Ibn Abbas and others. The most likely opinion is that the Prophet’s (peace and blessings of God be upon him) seeing God Almighty on the Night of the Isra’ and Mi’raj is true, and not from behind a veil as some of them believe.

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(*) Al-Bayan fi Dhifa’ al-Ta’ar al-Muthuwat bayn al-Qur’an al-Kur’an, Dr. Muhammad Abu al-Nur al-Hadidi, Al-Amanah Library, Cairo, 1401 AH/1981 AD. Al-Bayan fi Dhifa’ al-Ta’ar al-Muthuwat bayn al-Qur’an al-Kur’an, Dr. Atef al-Maliji, Iqra Library, Cairo, 1st ed., 2004 AD.

[1] The fold: the intention.

[2] Narrated by Muslim in his Sahih, Book of Faith, Chapter on Proof that Believers Will See God Almighty in the Hereafter (467).

[3] Al-Bayan fi refutation of the imagined contradiction between the verses of the Qur’an, Dr. Muhammad Abu al-Nur al-Hadidi, Al-Amanah Library, Cairo, 1401 AH/1981 AD, pp. 89: 94, with some modifications.

[4] Slander: lying.

[5] Look at me: give me time.

[6] Narrated by Muslim in his Sahih, Book of Faith, Chapter on the meaning of the Almighty’s saying: “And he certainly saw him on another descent” (13) (An-Najm: 13) (457).

[7] See: Explanation of Sahih Muslim, Al-Nawawi, Book of Faith, Chapter on the Meaning of the Almighty’s Saying: “And he had certainly seen him on another descent” (13) (An-Najm: 13) (3/4).

[8] Narrated by Muslim in his Sahih, Book of Faith, Chapter on the meaning of the words of God Almighty: “And he saw him in another descent (13)” (An-Najm: 13) (455).

[9] Al-Bayan fi refutation of the imagined contradiction between the verses of the Qur’an, Dr. Muhammad Abu al-Nur al-Hadid, Al-Amanah Library, Cairo, 1401 AH/1981 AD, p. 89 and following.