Did Imam Ahmad See His Lord in a Dream? And What Was the Vision Like?
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The questioner : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
May Allah, the Lord of the Mighty Throne, prolong your life in His obedience. The question is...
The Shaykh : And you likewise.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good: Is it true that it is narrated about Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (may Allah have mercy on him) that he saw his Lord in a dream? If it is true, what was the vision like?
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment.
As for what follows:
This is a great issue: it is the seeing of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He.
Seeing Allah the Exalted in the Hereafter is established by the Qur'an, the Sunnah, and the consensus of the Salaf, that Allah, Mighty and Majestic, is seen on the Day of Resurrection. This is established by the Book, the Sunnah, and the consensus of the Salaf. But if He is seen, is He comprehended? No, because Allah said:[Al-An'am 6:103] (Glorified and Exalted is He).
And how many things do we see but not comprehend, either because of their smallness, or their distance, or other reasons. So Allah, Mighty and Majestic, is seen but not comprehended.
There is no need to list all the evidence for this, but we will make a brief reference: Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, says:[Al-Qiyamah 75:22-23] How do you write the first "nadhrah"?
The questioner : With a dhad.
The Shaykh : And the second?
The questioner : With a tha.
The Shaykh : The second one is with a tha, yes.
The first one is with a dhad, meaning: beautiful.
And the second one: with a tha, meaning: looking with the eye.
And this is regarding the believers, because He said in contrast to that:[Al-Qiyamah 75:24-25].
And He, the Exalted, said regarding the disbelievers:[Al-Mutaffifin 83:15] The implication is that other than the disbelievers are veiled or not veiled? Not veiled.
Now, in the Sunnah, it is mass-transmitted that Allah the Exalted is seen: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2551Sahih (Darussalam) The first is the 'Asr prayer, and the second is the Fajr prayer , and the hadiths regarding this are numerous and mass-transmitted. As for the Salaf, they are in consensus on this. This is in the Hereafter.
As for in this world, Allah is not seen. And Moses, peace be upon him, who is one of the resolute prophets, asked his Lord to look at Him:[Al-A'raf 7:143] The mountain crumbled the moment the Lord manifested Himself to it; it crumbled. When Moses saw this sight, he fell unconscious, overcome by the horror of what he saw, and he knew that he could not see his Lord, because if the mountain could not remain as it was when the Lord, Mighty and Majestic, manifested Himself to it, then a human being is even more so.
So in this world, Allah is not seen. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:As-Sunan al-Kubra lil-Nasa'i 56:104.
What remains is: Can Allah be seen in a dream? We say: As for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), he saw his Lord in a dream.
As for others, there is some hesitation about that, even regarding what is narrated about Imam Ahmad; I have some hesitation about it, because the generality of the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):As-Sunan al-Kubra lil-Nasa'i 56:104 includes waking and sleeping. And if it includes this, we cannot say that it is possible to be seen in a dream. And if He is seen in a dream, how is He seen? If Satan does not take the form of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), then he will not take the form of Allah. And if you see Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, as He is in a dream, I do not know. So I am in doubt about what is narrated about Imam Ahmad or others that they saw Allah, Mighty and Majestic.
And as for in the Hereafter, the believers see their Lord. We ask Allah to make us and you among them. Don't ask, who is staying here, no.
The questioner : ... Unayzah.
The Shaykh : Allah knows best, in doubt, no, don't change anything... What is this sound? This is for the recording.
May Allah, the Lord of the Mighty Throne, prolong your life in His obedience. The question is...
The Shaykh : And you likewise.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good: Is it true that it is narrated about Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (may Allah have mercy on him) that he saw his Lord in a dream? If it is true, what was the vision like?
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment.
As for what follows:
This is a great issue: it is the seeing of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He.
Seeing Allah the Exalted in the Hereafter is established by the Qur'an, the Sunnah, and the consensus of the Salaf, that Allah, Mighty and Majestic, is seen on the Day of Resurrection. This is established by the Book, the Sunnah, and the consensus of the Salaf. But if He is seen, is He comprehended? No, because Allah said:
Vision perceives Him not, but He perceives [all] vision
لا تُدْرِكُهُ الْأَبْصَارُ وَهُوَ يُدْرِكُ الْأَبْصَارَAnd how many things do we see but not comprehend, either because of their smallness, or their distance, or other reasons. So Allah, Mighty and Majestic, is seen but not comprehended.
There is no need to list all the evidence for this, but we will make a brief reference: Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, says:
(22) [Some] faces, that Day, will be radiant, (23) Looking at their Lord.
وُجُوهٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ نَاضِرَةٌ * إِلَى رَبِّهَا نَاظِرَةٌThe questioner : With a dhad.
The Shaykh : And the second?
The questioner : With a tha.
The Shaykh : The second one is with a tha, yes.
The first one is with a dhad, meaning: beautiful.
And the second one: with a tha, meaning: looking with the eye.
And this is regarding the believers, because He said in contrast to that:
(24) And [some] faces, that Day, will be contorted, (25) Expecting that there will be done to them [something] backbreaking.
وَوُجُوهٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ بَاسِرَةٌ * تَظُنُّ أَنْ يُفْعَلَ بِهَا فَاقِرَةٌAnd He, the Exalted, said regarding the disbelievers:
No! Indeed, from their Lord, that Day, they will be partitioned.
كَلَّا إِنَّهُمْ عَنْ رَبِّهِمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ لَمَحْجُوبُونَNow, in the Sunnah, it is mass-transmitted that Allah the Exalted is seen: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Indeed you shall be placed before your Lord and you shall see Him as you see this moon. You will see Him without trouble. So if you are able to keep from becoming overwhelmed from prayer before the rising of the sun and before its setting, then do so.
إنكم سترون ربكم كما ترون القمر ليلة البدر، لا تضامُون في رؤيته، فإن استطعتم أن لا تُغْلَبوا على صلاة قبل طلوع الشمس وصلاة قبل غروبها فافعلواThen do so.
فافعلواAs for in this world, Allah is not seen. And Moses, peace be upon him, who is one of the resolute prophets, asked his Lord to look at 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." But when his Lord appeared to the mountain, He rendered it level
قَالَ رَبِّ أَرِنِي أَنْظُرْ إِلَيْكَ قَالَ لَنْ تَرَانِي وَلَكِنِ انْظُرْ إِلَى الْجَبَلِ فَإِنِ اسْتَقَرَّ مَكَانَهُ فَسَوْفَ تَرَانِي فَلَمَّا تَجَلَّى رَبُّهُ لِلْجَبَلِ جَعَلَهُ دَكّاًSo in this world, Allah is not seen. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
And know that you will not see your Lord until you die.
واعلموا أنكم لن تروا ربكم حتى تموتواWhat remains is: Can Allah be seen in a dream? We say: As for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), he saw his Lord in a dream.
As for others, there is some hesitation about that, even regarding what is narrated about Imam Ahmad; I have some hesitation about it, because the generality of the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
And know that you will not see your Lord until you die.
واعلموا أنكم لن تروا ربكم حتى تموتواAnd as for in the Hereafter, the believers see their Lord. We ask Allah to make us and you among them. Don't ask, who is staying here, no.
The questioner : ... Unayzah.
The Shaykh : Allah knows best, in doubt, no, don't change anything... What is this sound? This is for the recording.