Did a disagreement occur among the Salaf regarding the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) seeing his Lord?
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The Shaykh : The example brought up by the other questioner is a disagreement regarding the vision: Did Muhammad see his Lord?!
Yes, there is some of this disagreement, but this disagreement is not of the primary type, meaning: It is not established from any of the Salaf that he stated with certainty that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) saw his Lord. Rather, the opposite came from them. The only one who affirmed the vision was Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him), but the narrations reported from him are contradictory. Therefore, a scholar cannot assert that Ibn Abbas was saying the opposite of Lady Aisha, for example. Lady Aisha was denying the vision of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) of his Lord on the night of the Ascension and the Journey, asserting this with certainty and considering it a grave matter for anyone who might say that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) saw his Lord. The two Shaykhs narrated in their Sahihs from the hadith of Misqat from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), where he said to her—Misqat is the one speaking: يا أم المؤمنين هل رأى محمد ربه ؟ قالت : لقد قفّ شعري مما قلتَ ، قال : يا أم المؤمنين ارحميني ولا تعجلي عليَّ ، أليس يقول الله تبارك وتعالى : ولقد رآه نزلة أخرى * عند سدرة المنتهى قالت : أناْ أعلم الناس بذلك ، سألت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم فقال : رأيتُ جبريل في صورته التي خُلق فيها مرتين وله سئمائة جناح O Mother of the Believers, did Muhammad see his Lord? She said: My hair stood on end from what you said. He said: O Mother of the Believers, have mercy on me and do not rush me. Does not Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) say: And he saw Him on another descent, at the Lote Tree of the Utmost Limit? She said: I am the most knowledgeable of people about that. I asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), and he said: I saw Jibril in the form in which he was created, twice, and he has six hundred wings.. Then she affirmed her denial of the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) seeing Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He): "Three things: whoever tells you them has committed a great lie against Allah. Whoever tells you that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) saw his Lord has committed a great lie against Allah. Then she recited His saying (Blessed and Exalted is He):[Ash-Shuraa 42:51], and she recited His saying (Exalted is He): [Al-An'am 6:103]. And whoever tells you that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) knew what would happen tomorrow has committed a great lie against Allah. Then she recited His saying (Exalted is He): [An-Naml 27:65]. And whoever tells you that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) concealed something he was ordered to convey has committed a great lie against Allah. Then she recited His saying (Exalted is He): [Al-Ma'idah 5:67]". This is an authentic narration in the two Sahihs, explicit in that Lady Aisha asserted that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) did not see his Lord. There are other hadiths confirming her denial. This hadith is mawquf, because it is from the saying of Aisha. However, there are marfu hadiths confirming what Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said, such as the hadith of Abu Dharr, which is also in Sahih Muslim: .
And its detail is in the hadith of Abu Musa al-Ash'ari, which Imam Muslim mentioned after the hadith of Abu Dharr. In it, he (peace be upon him) said:. So when he (peace be upon him) was asked, "Did you see your Lord?" he denied it. The denial of Aisha, who is the wife of the Messenger (peace be upon him), means that she spoke with knowledge she received from her husband. When he (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked: Mishkat al-Masabih 5659, meaning: There is light, so how can I see Him? So this Aisha asserts with certainty that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not see his Lord, and she has two hadiths that testify for her.
Who among the Companions differed on this issue?!
Three narrations are reported from Ibn Abbas:
He saw his Lord, he saw his Lord with his heart, he saw his Lord with his eye. Three narrations from the path of Simak ibn Harb from Ibn Abbas. This means that the narrator of the vision affirmed by Ibn Abbas sometimes stated it generally, saying: "He saw his Lord". But the problem is: Did he see his Lord with his eye or with his insight through his heart?
Here we have these three narrations: He saw his Lord, stated generally, then two other narrations that are qualified, but one contradicts the other. One says: He saw his Lord with his heart, and the other says: He saw his Lord with his eye. So the narration is contradictory regarding Ibn Abbas, and we cannot say that Ibn Abbas contradicts the saying of Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her).
The intent of this word completing the previous word is: That such a disagreement may be valid, but not every disagreement is valid, and this is an example of that.
So we can say: That establishing a disagreement between Aisha and Ibn Abbas on this issue is not accurate, because the narration from Ibn Abbas is contradictory, as I mentioned earlier.
Yes, there is some of this disagreement, but this disagreement is not of the primary type, meaning: It is not established from any of the Salaf that he stated with certainty that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) saw his Lord. Rather, the opposite came from them. The only one who affirmed the vision was Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him), but the narrations reported from him are contradictory. Therefore, a scholar cannot assert that Ibn Abbas was saying the opposite of Lady Aisha, for example. Lady Aisha was denying the vision of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) of his Lord on the night of the Ascension and the Journey, asserting this with certainty and considering it a grave matter for anyone who might say that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) saw his Lord. The two Shaykhs narrated in their Sahihs from the hadith of Misqat from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), where he said to her—Misqat is the one speaking: يا أم المؤمنين هل رأى محمد ربه ؟ قالت : لقد قفّ شعري مما قلتَ ، قال : يا أم المؤمنين ارحميني ولا تعجلي عليَّ ، أليس يقول الله تبارك وتعالى : ولقد رآه نزلة أخرى * عند سدرة المنتهى قالت : أناْ أعلم الناس بذلك ، سألت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم فقال : رأيتُ جبريل في صورته التي خُلق فيها مرتين وله سئمائة جناح O Mother of the Believers, did Muhammad see his Lord? She said: My hair stood on end from what you said. He said: O Mother of the Believers, have mercy on me and do not rush me. Does not Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) say: And he saw Him on another descent, at the Lote Tree of the Utmost Limit? She said: I am the most knowledgeable of people about that. I asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), and he said: I saw Jibril in the form in which he was created, twice, and he has six hundred wings.. Then she affirmed her denial of the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) seeing Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He): "Three things: whoever tells you them has committed a great lie against Allah. Whoever tells you that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) saw his Lord has committed a great lie against Allah. Then she recited His saying (Blessed and Exalted is He):
And it is not for any human being that Allah should speak to him except by revelation or from behind a partition or that He sends a messenger
وما كان لبشر أن يكلمه الله إلا وحيا أو من وراء حجاب أو يرسل رسولًاVision perceives Him not, but He perceives [all] vision
لا تدركه الأبصار وهو يدرك الأبصارSay, "None in the heavens and earth knows the unseen except Allah
قل لا يعلم من في السماوات والأرض الغيبَ إلا اللهO Messenger, announce that which has been revealed to you from your Lord, and if you do not, then you have not conveyed His message. And Allah will protect you from the people
يا أيها الرسول بلغ ما أنزل إليك من ربك وإن لم تفعل فما بلغت رسالته والله يعصمك من الناسThat the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) was asked, "Did you see your Lord?" He said: Light, how can I see Him?
أن النبي صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم سُئل هل رأيت ربك ؟ قال : نور أنَّى أراهAnd its detail is in the hadith of Abu Musa al-Ash'ari, which Imam Muslim mentioned after the hadith of Abu Dharr. In it, he (peace be upon him) said:
His veil is light.
حجابه النورwhether he had seen his Lord and received the reply, "He is Light
هل رأيت ربك ؟ قال : نورWho among the Companions differed on this issue?!
Three narrations are reported from Ibn Abbas:
He saw his Lord, he saw his Lord with his heart, he saw his Lord with his eye. Three narrations from the path of Simak ibn Harb from Ibn Abbas. This means that the narrator of the vision affirmed by Ibn Abbas sometimes stated it generally, saying: "He saw his Lord". But the problem is: Did he see his Lord with his eye or with his insight through his heart?
Here we have these three narrations: He saw his Lord, stated generally, then two other narrations that are qualified, but one contradicts the other. One says: He saw his Lord with his heart, and the other says: He saw his Lord with his eye. So the narration is contradictory regarding Ibn Abbas, and we cannot say that Ibn Abbas contradicts the saying of Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her).
The intent of this word completing the previous word is: That such a disagreement may be valid, but not every disagreement is valid, and this is an example of that.
So we can say: That establishing a disagreement between Aisha and Ibn Abbas on this issue is not accurate, because the narration from Ibn Abbas is contradictory, as I mentioned earlier.