‘Seeing Allaah’ by the people of Paradise is true, without their encompassing Him and without us knowing how it will be – Shaykh Fawzan | Dawud Burbank [Audio|En]

Aqeedah Tahawiyyah : Lesson 16

[58] والرؤْيةُ حقٌّ لأَهلِ الجَنَّةِ، بِغَيْرِ إِحَاطَةٍ ولا كَيْفِيَّةٍ‏‏‏.

[58]    And ‘seeing Allaah’ by the people of Paradise is true, without their encompassing Him and without us knowing how it will be.

—

The Explanation – Point [58][1]

Ar-ru’yah (الرؤية – the seeing) means: the believers seeing their Lord, the Perfect and Most High; because the believers will see their Lord, the Perfect and Most High, in the Hereafter. They will see Him openly – with their eyes, just as they see the moon on the night when it is full and just as they see the sun bright and clear when there is no cloud-cover to hide it; just as the chosen Prophet (Al-Mustafaa) sallAllaahu `alayhi wa sallam informed about in the authentic mutawaatir ahaadeeth from him, `alayhis–salaatu was-salaam.[2] So therefore, the author said, “The seeing (ar-ru.yah) is true” meaning: it is affirmed by the Book and the Sunnah and the ijmaa` (consensus) of the people of the Sunnah and the Jamaa`ah from the Salaf (predecessors) and from the Khalaf (later peoples). Nobody disagrees about that except for the mubtadi`ah (innovators) and the people of the deviant ways.[3]

So the believers will see their Lord, the Perfect and Most High, just as He the Perfect said,

On that Day (the Day of Resurrection) some faces would be radiant, looking at their Lord.
(Sooratul-Qiyaamah (75), aayaat 22-23)

They are the faces of the believers. As for (the word in the first aayah) ‘naadirah’ (ناضرة – radiant), meaning: from an-nadrah (النضرة) which means brilliance and beauty.

You will recognize upon their faces the radiance of bliss.
(Sooratul-Mutaffifeen (83), aayah 24)

And as for (the second aayah) ‘nazirah’ (ناظرة) then it means looking with the eyes. You say: “nazartu ilaa kadhaa” (نظرت إلى كذا) – “I looked upon such and such” when you mean: “I saw it” (أبصرته) – absartuh. The term ‘an-nazar’ (النظر) has different usages in the Book of Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic. (Firstly), if it is used with the term ‘ilaa’ (إلى) meaning ‘towards’ or ‘to’ then it means: seeing with the eyes.

Will they not look upon the camels at how they have been created and at the sky and how it has been raised?  (Sooratul-Ghaashiyah (88), aayaat 17-18)

Meaning: Will they not look with their eyes at these amazing parts of the creation which prove the Power and Ability of Allaah the Mighty and Majestic. And in this aayah,

Looking at their Lord (Sooratul-Qiyaamah (75), aayaat 23)

Using the term ‘ilaa’ (إلى).

And when ‘an-nazar’ (النظر) is used on its own without any intermediate particle, then it means: halting and waiting.

On the Day when the male and female hypocrites will say to those who believe, “Wait for us so that we can acquire some of your light.” (Sooratul-Hadeed (57), aayah 13)

Meaning: Wait for us so we can derive some light from your light; because the hypocrites, their lights will be extinguished, and Allaah’s Refuge is sought; so they will remain in darkness. So therefore, they will seek from the believers to wait for them until they can take some light from their light. And His Saying, He the Most High,

Do they but await that Allaah should come to them? (Sooratul-Baqarah (2), aayah 210)

Meaning: They do not await except the coming of the Lord on the Day of Resurrection, to carry out judgment between His slaves.

And when ‘an-nazar’ (النظر) – ‘looking’ is used with the particle ‘fee’ (في) – ‘into’, then it carries the meaning of ‘reflecting and considering’, just as Allaah the Most High said,

Will they not reflect upon the Dominion of the heavens and the earth. (Sooratul-A`raaf (7), aayah 185)

Meaning: reflect upon those things created by Allaah in the heavens and upon the earth and take this as a proof for the Power and Ability of Allaah, the Creator, He the Perfect and Most High; and of His being deserving of all worship.

So in summary, ‘an-nazar’ (النظر) here is used with the particle ‘ilaa’ (إلى) – ‘at’ and its meaning is: (‘looking at’) seeing and seeing with the eyes.

And He the Perfect and Most High said,

For those who did well in the world, there will be the finest reward and an increase. (Soorah Yoonus (10), aayah 26)

The Prophet sallAllaahu `alayhi wa sallam himself, explained the term ‘al-husnaa’ (الحسنى – the finest) to mean Paradise; and he explained ‘az-ziyaadah’ (الزيادة – the increase) to mean looking at the Honorable Face of Allaah. And this occurs in Saheeh Muslim.[4]

And He the Most High said,

Those who are dutiful to Allaah will have whatever they wished in Paradise and we have something extra for them. (Soorah Qaaf (50), aayah 35)

‘Al-mazeed’ (المزيد – something extra): it is looking at the Honorable Face of Allaah.

And He the Most High said about the unbelievers,

But no! On that Day the unbelievers will be blocked and screened away from their Lord.
(Sooratul-Mutaffifeen (83), aayah 15)

So if the unbelievers are screened away from Allaah, not seeing Him because they disbelieved in this world, so then they will be screened and prevented from looking upon Him on the Day of Resurrection. And this is the greatest deprivation and the greatest punishment; and Allaah’s Refuge is sought. So the aayah proves that the believers would not be blocked and screened away from Allaah on the Day of Resurrection and that they will indeed look upon Him in the Hereafter; because they believed in Him in this world, not having seen Him. Rather, they took as proof for Him, He the Perfect, His Signs and His Messages (sent to His Messengers). So therefore, Allaah will honour them with looking upon Him on the Day of Resurrection.

And looking upon the Face of Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, is the greatest bliss in Paradise. This is the position of the Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jamaa`ah and these are some of their proofs from the Qur.aan.

As for their proofs from the Sunnah then they are very many; indeed they reach the level of mutwaatir (being reported by a very large number of people at every stage of transmission – from the Companions, Taabi`een and every level thereon), as was said by the great scholar Ibnul-Qayyim in his valuable book Haadiyul-Arwaah ilaa Bilaadil-Afraah (حادي الأرواح إلى بلاد الأفراح) and he quoted the ahaadeeth reported about seeing Allaah (by the believers on the Day of Resurrection) and that they reach the level of being mutawaatir.

And from them is his saying `alayhis–salaatu was-salaam,

إنكم سترون ربكم يوم القيامة، كما ترون القمر ليلة البدر، وكما ترون الشمس صحوًا ليس دونـها سحاب، لا تُضامون في رؤيته – أو:‏ لا تَضامُّون في رؤيته

“You will certainly see your Lord on the Day of Resurrection, just as you see the Moon on the night when it is full and just as you see the Sun – bright and clear, not being covered over by clouds; and you will not be put to trouble in seeing Him – or you will not have to rush and crowd together to see Him.” [5]

Meaning: You will not have to scramble and crowd to see Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, because every single one will see the Lord, each person remaining at his place without any crowding or scrambling, just as the people see the Sun and the Moon without having to scramble and crowd. Usually if there is something upon the earth which is hidden, then the people have to scramble to get to see it. However, if it is something raised up like the Sun and the Moon, then they do not have to crowd and scramble to see it; everyone can see it while he still remains at his place. And if this is the case with regard to something created, the Sun and the Moon, then how about the Creator, the Perfect and Most High?

Point [58] to be continued inshaa. Allaah

Footnotes:

[1] Translator’s Side Point: In the larger explanation of Ibn Abil-`Izz, Ibn Abil-`Izz said with regard to this point, “This matter is one of the noblest matters from the principles of the religion and from the most tremendous of them. And it is the limit which those people who strive, strive for, and those people who vie, vie for. And those will be deprived, those who are screened away from their Lord; they will be truly deprived – those who are turned away from His Door.”

[2] (One of these hadeeth) from Jareer ibn `Abdillaah al-Bajalee radiyAllaahu `anh who said,

كُنَّا عِنْدَ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَنَظَرَ إِلَى الْقَمَرِ لَيْلَة يَعْنِي الْبَدْرَ فَقَالَ إِنَّكُمْ سَتَرَوْنَ رَبَّكُمْ كَمَا تَرَوْنَ هَذَا الْقَمَرَ لَا تُضَامُّونَ فِي رُؤْيَتِهِ

“We were the Prophet sallAllaahu `alayhi wa sallam and he looked at the Moon on the night when it was full and he said, ‘You will certainly see your Lord, just as you see this Moon; you will not be put to trouble in seeing Him’.”

Hadeeth reported by Al-Bukhaaree as hadeeth 554 and by Muslim.

Translator’s Side Point: Some of the explainers make the point that this hadeeth affirms seeing Allaah truly and really, just as we truly and really see the Moon and the Sun.

[3] Translator’s Side Point: Ibn Abil-`Izz mentions who they are. He said, “The ones who disagree and differ about seeing, they are the Jahmiyyah and the Mu`tazilah and those who follow them from the Khawaarij and the Imaamiyyah (the Shee`ah). And their saying is false and futile and it is rejected by the Book and the Sunnah.”

[4] Muslim reports it as hadeeth 181, in the Book of Eemaan in Saheeh Muslim, and also reported by At-Tirmidhee.

[5] Hadeeth reported by Al-Bukhaaree from a hadeeth of Aboo Hurayrah radiyAllaahu `anh, as hadeeth 554, 806 and 7434, and also by Muslim who reports it with the wording: تضارون (you will not cause harm to anyone to see Him.)

Listen to the Part 02 of this lecture Here :
Deviance of those who negate the Ru’yah (’Seeing Allaah’ by the people of Paradise) – Shaykh Fawzan | Dawud Burbank [Audio|En]

Posted with kind permission from Dawud Burbank rahimahullaah

Listen to the Full Audio Series of Aqeedah Tahaawiyyah:
Explanation of Aqeedah at-Tahaawiyyah – Dawud Burbank [Audio|En]