Did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) see his Lord (Mighty and Majestic) during the Night Journey, and what is the meaning of His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He): (two bowstrings' distance or even closer)?
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Question:
Did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) see his Lord (Mighty and Majestic) during the Night Journey? And what is the meaning of His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He)[An-Najm 53:9]?
Answer:
The correct view, held by the majority of scholars, is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not see his Lord with his eyes on the night of the Night Journey, but rather he saw Him with his heart. This is because Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) is not seen in this world; that only happens in the Hereafter, in Paradise. The vision of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) occurs in Paradise, where the believers see Him, and they also see Him in the plains of the Day of Resurrection. This does not happen except in the Hereafter. As for this world, no one has seen Him. When Moses (peace be upon him) asked his Lord to let him see Him, when He manifested Himself, when he came to the time appointed by Allah for him, and Allah (Mighty and Majestic) spoke to him[Al-A'raf 7:143], the verse indicates that seeing Him is not possible in this worldly life, and the Night Journey is part of that. This is only in the Hereafter, as the evidence has been transmitted in large numbers that the believers see their Lord in the Hereafter. As for [An-Najm 53:9], the intended meaning is nearness: the nearness of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) to Jibril (peace be upon him) when he revealed to him by the command of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) [An-Najm 53:9]. "He revealed" means that Jibril revealed to His servant, that is, to the servant of Allah, who is Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), what he revealed by the command of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Yes. May Allah bless you.
Did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) see his Lord (Mighty and Majestic) during the Night Journey? And what is the meaning of His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He)
at a distance of two bow lengths or nearer.
قَابَ قَوْسَيْنِ أَوْ أَدْنَىٰAnswer:
The correct view, held by the majority of scholars, is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not see his Lord with his eyes on the night of the Night Journey, but rather he saw Him with his heart. This is because Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) is not seen in this world; that only happens in the Hereafter, in Paradise. The vision of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) occurs in Paradise, where the believers see Him, and they also see Him in the plains of the Day of Resurrection. This does not happen except in the Hereafter. As for this world, no one has seen Him. When Moses (peace be upon him) asked his Lord to let him see Him, when He manifested Himself, when he came to the time appointed by Allah for him, and Allah (Mighty and Majestic) spoke to him
he said, "My Lord, show me [Yourself] that I may look at You." [Allah] said, "You will not see Me, but look at the mountain; if it should remain in place, then you will see Me."
قَالَ رَبِّ أَرِنِي أَنظُرْ إِلَيْكَ قَالَ لَن تَرَانِي وَلَٰكِنِ انظُرْ إِلَى الْجَبَلِ فَإِنِ اسْتَقَرَّ مَكَانَهُ فَسَوْفَ تَرَانِيat a distance of two bow lengths or nearer.
قَابَ قَوْسَيْنِ أَوْ أَدْنَىٰAnd was at a distance of two bow lengths or nearer.
فَكَانَ قَابَ قَوْسَيْنِ أَوْ أَدْنَىٰ
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، هل رأى النبي ﷺ ربه عز وجل في المعراج وما معنى قوله تعالى (قاب قوسين أو أدنى)؟ الشيخ صالح بن الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.