SEEING ALLAH (SWT) IN PARADISE

The Greatest Delight: Ridwaan Allah and
Looking At His Face
"Some faces that Day will be Nadhirah
[shining, radiant], (22) Looking at their
Rabb." [Al-Qiyamah 75:22-23]
Ibn al-Itheer said, "Seeing Allah is the
ultimate joy in the Hereafter, the most
precious gift of Allah. May Allah (swt) help us
reach that goal." [Jaami' al-Usool, 10/557]
Abu Sa'eed al-Khudri reported that the
Prophet (saw) said that "Allah will say to the
people of Paradise, "O People of Paradise!
They will say, "We are at Your Worship, our
Rabb, and all goodness is in Your hand." He
will say, "Are you content?" They will say,
"Why should we not be content, O Rabb, when
you have given us what you have not given to
anyone else of Your Creation?" He will say,
"Shall I not give you better than that?" They
will say, "O Rabb, what could be better than
that?" He will say, "I grant you My pleasure
and I will never be displeased with you after
that." [Bukhaari and Muslim]
Muslim and at-Tirmidhi reported from Suhayb
ar-Rumi that the Messenger of Allah (saw)
said:
"When the people of Paradise enter Paradise,
Allah will say: "Do you want anything more?"
They will say, "Have You not made our faces
white [i.e. honoured us]? Have You not
admitted us to Paradise and saved us from
the Fire?" Then the veil will be lifted, and they
will never have been given anything more dear
to them than looking at their Rabb, may He be
Blessed and Exalted."
One report adds, "Then the Prophet (saw)
recited the aayah , "For those who have done
good is the best [reward i.e. Paradise] and
even more [i.e. the honour of glancing at the
Countenance of Allah]..." [Younus 10:26]
Thus seeing the Face of Allah (swt) was
interpreted as part of the "more" [mazeed]
which Allah has promised to al-Muhsinoon
[those who have done good]: "There they will
have all that they desire - and We have more
[for them, i.e. a glance at the All-Mighty, All-
Majestic." [Qaf 50:35]
This is a joy and honour that will be denied to
the Kuffaar and Mushrikeen: "Nay, surely they
[evildoers] will be veiled from seeing their
Rabb that day." [Al-Mutafafeen 83:15]
Imaam Maalik ibn Anas, the Imaam of al-
Madinah, used this aayah as proof that
"Looking at their Rabb" [Al-Qiyamah 75:23]
literally meant they would see the face of
Allah, as some had interpreted it as meaning
the people would be waiting for their reward.
Maalik said, "They have lied.... The people will
look at Allah on the Day of Resurrection with
their own eyes. If the believers are not going
to see their Rabb on the Day of Resurrection,
why did Allah (swt) say that the kuffaar would
be veiled from Seeing Him?" [See Sharh as-
Sunnah, Mishkaat al-Masaabeeh, 3/100 no.
5662]
At-Tahhaawi, the great Hanafi Imaam, said in
his "Al-'Aqeedah at-Tahhaawiyyah", "This
seeing [Allah] is true, something that will
happen to the people of Paradise; it is not
necessary to attempt to define it or describe
how it will happen. It is mentioned in the Book
of Our Rabb [75:23]. The way it will happen is
according to the will and knowledge of Allah
and we have to believe in it as it was narrated
from the Messenger of Allah in the saheeh
hadith. We should not interpret it according
to our own inclinations and opinions, for no
one is sound in his deen except the one who
submits fully to Allah and His Messenger.
What is ambiguous should be referred to one
who has knowledge (i.e. a scholar)" [Sharh at-
Tahhaawiyyah, 203]
The Refutation of Those Who Differ
The commentator of at-Tahhaawiyyah
explained the different misguided opinions on
this matter: "Those who differed with regard to
the believers seeing Allah (swt) on the Day of
Resurrection are the Jahmiyyah and al-
Mu'tazilah, and those who followed them of
the Khawaarij and Imaamiyyah. Their false
opinion is refuted by the Qur'an and Sunnah.
The fact that the believers will see Allah (swt)
is confirmed by the words of the Sahaabah,
Taabi'een, well known scholars of Islaam, Ahl
al-Hadith and by all the groups of
philosophers (Ahl al-Kalaam) who belong to
Ahl as-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah. "
"This issue is one of the most important
matters of Usool ad-Deen [the fundamentals
of religion] for it is the ultimate goal for which
people are striving and competing, and it will
be denied to those who are "veiled from seeing
their Rabb" and who will be turned away from
His Mercy."
He then explained the dangers of
misinterpretation:
"This is what corrupted both the world and
religion. This is what the Jews and Christians
did to the texts of the Tawraat and Injeel, and
Allah (swt) warned us against doing likewise,
but the confused people insisted on following
their path. How much harm has been caused
to the religion and its followers by wrong
interpretations! Was 'Uthmaan killed except as
a result of misinterpretation? Would the Battle
of Siffeen, the Battle of the Camel, the killing
of Husayn and the Battle of al-Harrah have
happened without there being
misinterpretation? Would the Khawaarij,
Mu'tazilah and Rawaafid have emerged, and
would the ummah have split into seventy-
three sects, if there had been no
misinterpretation?"
He explained that there were two reasons that
the aayah should be taken to mean the
believers will see Allah
(1) the Understanding of the Text itself
"An-Nadhar (looking) is connected by Idaafah
(genitive grammatical possessive structure) to
al-Wajh (face) which is the location of looking
(because the face is the site of the eyes). The
use of the word "ilaa" (here translated as "at")
clearly means that they will be looking and
seeing with their eyes; the wording has no
indication that it could mean anything other
than that. It is crystal clear that what Allah
meant is that they will see their Rabb,
subhaanahu, with their own eyes, which are
located in the face.
"The Arabic word Nadhar is used in a number
of ways and may mean different things,
depending on the context:
"If it stands alone with nothing following it, it
means "stopping" and "waiting" - "...Wait for
us! (undhuroonaa) Let us get something from
your light!.." [Al-Hadid 57:13]
"If it is followed by "fi" (lit. "in") it means
"thinking" or "pondering": "Have they not
considered (yandhuru fi) the dominion of the
heavens and the earth?.... " [Al-Araf 7:185]
"If it is followed by ilaa (at) it refers to looking
or seeing with the eyes: "Look at (undhuru
ilaa) their fruits when they begin to bear" [Al-
Anam 6:99]
So how can it be interpreted otherwise when it
refers to the face, which is the site of the
eyes?"
(2) the way in which the Salaf understood the
text.
He quotes a number of reports to illustrate
this:
Al-Hasan said, "[Their faces] will look at their
Rabb and will become radiant with His light."
Abu Saalih reported from Ibn 'Abbaas (ra) that
"Looking at their Rabb" [Al-Qayamah 75:23]
meant,
"They will be looking at the face of Allah, azza
wa jall."
'Ikrimah said that "Some faces will be
Nadhirah"
[Al-Qayamah 75:22] indicated "because of joy,
and looking at their Rabb" meant "truly
looking at their Rabb" and he reported a
similar opinion from Ibn 'Abbaas. This is the
opinion of the Mufassireen of Ahlus-Sunnah.
Concerning the aayah, "There they will have all
that they desire - and We shall have more [for
them]" [Qaaf 50:35]
at-Tabari reported that 'Ali ibn Abi Taalib (ra)
and Anas ibn Maalik said,
"This means that they will see Allah, azza wa
jall."
He explains the meaning of "even more" [az-
Ziyaadah] as looking at the face of Allah, as
the report narrated by Muslim in his saheeh
from Suhayb "..then the veil will be lifted and
they will see Him, and they will never be given
anything more precious to them than seeing
Allah (swt). This is az-Ziyaadah [the "even
more" referred to in the aayah]". The same
hadith was narrate with a number of isnaads
and slightly different wording from others, and
this is how it was interpreted by the Sahaabah
as Ibn Jareer reported from Abu Bakr as-
Siddeeq, Hudhayfah, Abu Musa al-Ash'ari and
Ibn 'Abbaas (ra).
Tabari and others quoted from ash-Shaafi'ee
via al-Mazani, and al-Haakim said, "al-Asaam
told us that ar-Rabee' ibn Sulayma said,
"I was with Muhammad ibn Idrees ash-
Shaafi'ee when a letter reached him from
Upper Egypt in which he was asked his
opinion about the aayah [83:15], and he said,
"As those [evildoers] will be veiled from Seeing
Allah because of His wrath towards them
indicates that these people (the believers) will
see Him because He will be pleased with
them."
The Mu'tazilah however concluded from the
aayaat "....You cannot see Me..." [Al-Araf
7:143] and "No vision can grasp Him.." [Al-
Anam 6:103] that therefore no one would see
Allah, but these can in fact be used as proof
against their position, for the first aayah
proves that the believers will see Allah for a
number of reasons:
(i) Nobody could think that Musaa (as), the
Messenger of Allah and the most
knowledgeable about Allah at that time, the
one who spoke with Allah, would ask to see
Allah [as is stated in the earlier part of this
aayah] if it were improper to do so.
(ii) Allah did not rebuke Musaa for this
request although when Nuh asked Allah to
save his son, He rebuked him for doing so [see
11:46]
(iii) Allah said, "..You cannot see Me.." , but
He did not say, "I can never be seen" or "It is
not possible to see Me" or "I am invisible".
There is a difference. This indicates that Allah
could be seen but that Musaa did not have
the strength to see him in this life because
human beings in this world are too weak to be
able to endure seeing Allah.
(iv) The ideas mentioned in (iii) can be
explained by referring to the next part of the
aayah
"...but look upon the mountain. If it stands
still in its place then you shall see Me...."
[Al-Araf 7:143]
Allah showed Musaa that despite its strength
and solid nature, a mountain in this world
could not withstand exposure to the sight of
Allah, so how could a human being who was
created weak, endure it?
(v) Allah could have made the mountain
stable, which is possible, but he had placed a
condition for seeing Him. If the mountain
stood firm when he appeared to it, then Musa
would be able to see Him.
(vi) Allah said, "..When his Rabb appeared to
the mountain, He made it collapse to
dust.." [Al-Araf 7:143].
If it is possible for Him to reveal Himself to a
mountain, which is an inanimate object how
could it be impossible for Him to reveal
Himself to His Messengers and those whom
He loves (awliyaa) in the abode of honour
which is Paradise?
(vii) Allah spoke to Musa and if a person is
permitted to speak and converse with no
mediator, then it is more befitting for him to
be able to see the One to whom he speaks. No
one could deny that people may see Allah
unless they also deny that Allah may speak to
them and those who denied that Allah could
be seen did in fact also deny that Allah could
speak to his slaves. Their claim that
"Lan" (never) implies absolute and eternal
negation can be answered by the fact that the
people will see Allah in the Hereafter and such
a negation will not necessarily be carried over
into the Hereafter, especially as in this case a
condition was attached. There are other
similar instances in the Qur'an - "But they will
never long for it.." [l-Baqarah 2:95] although
elsewhere He says, "And they will cry, O
Maalik! Let your Rabb make an end of us." He
will say, "Verily you shall abide forever" [Az-
Zukhruf 43:77]. If "lan" meant absolute and
eternal negation (i.e. that such and such a
thing would never happen), it would not be
possible to impose conditions, but Allah (swt)
says, "Therefore I will not leave this land until
my father permits me.." [Yousuf 12:80] which
proves that "lan" does not imply absolute
negation.
The evidence that people may see Allah is
presented in the most eloquent fashion, and in
the context of praise, and it is well-known that
praise is something positive; a thing that does
not exist cannot be praised. When Allah (swt)
praises by negation it implies something
positive; a thing that does not exist cannot be
praised. When Allah (swt) praises by negation
it implies something positive, like when He is
praised by saying that He neither slumbers
nor sleeps, which implies that He is the
Eternal One; or by saying that He never dies,
which implies that He is the eternally living; or
by saying that He never feels tired or
exhausted, which implies He is the All-
Powerful; or by saying that He never forgets or
lacks awareness, which implies that He is All-
Knowing. So there is no praise in negation
unless it implies something positive. The One
Who is Perfect cannot share in the quality that
is denied. The meaning is that Allah (swt) may
be seen but He cannot be seen in His entirety.
The aayah "No vision can grasp Him"
indicates that He is Almighty and because of
His greatness he cannot be fully comprehend,
for idraak [comprehension] is something that
surpasses seeing, as Allah (swt) says, "And
when the two hosts saw each other the
companions of Musa said, "We are sure to be
overtaken." [Ash-Shura 26:61]
Musaa did not deny that they saw them but
he denied that they would overwhelm them
because seeing [ru'yah] and overwhelming or
surrounding [idraak] could take place
independently of one another. Allah may be
seen [ru'yah] but He may never be fully
comprehended just as He may be known, but
never completely. This is how the Sahaabah
and Imaam understood this aayah, as their
opinions are recorded in its tafseer. Even the
Sun, which is a mere created entity, cannot be
fully comprehended by the one who sees it.
The hadith narrated by the Prophet (saw) and
his companions concerning the believers
seeing Allah has also reached the level of
tawaatur and were recorded by the compilers
of the six books, for example, the hadith of
Abu Hurayrah, "Some people asked, "O
Messenger of Allah, will we see our Rabb on
the Day of Resurrection?" The Messenger of
Allah (saw) said, "Do you doubt that the moon
is seen when it is full?" They said, "No, O
Messenger of Allah." He said, "Do you doubt
that the sun is seen when there are no clouds
to hide it?" They said, "No." He said, then you
will see Him just as clearly." [Bukhaari and
Muslim, who narrated a similar hadith from
Abu Sa'eed al-Khudri, and narrated by Jareer
ibn 'Abdullaah al-Bajlee narrated by al-
Bukhaari and Muslim; Abu Musa narrated in
al-Bukhaari, Sharh at-Tahhawwiyah,
p.204-210]