𝐁𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐀𝐋𝐋Â𝐇 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐁𝐄 𝐒𝐄𝐄𝐍 (𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫)
𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥â𝐡 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫*, 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐦 𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐮𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬*, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐮𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦*, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬.*
Explanation by Shaykh Dr. Rabee' ibn Haadee Al- Madkhalee:
*[𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐡 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫]: It is mandatory upon the slave to have firm belief that the believers will see Allâh in the Hereafter. However, the deviant group, the Mutazilah, rejected that Allah will be seen in the Hereafter based on false doubts, but Ahl as-Sunnah refuted them using proofs and evidences from the Book of Allah and the Prophetic Sunnah.
From the scholars who refuted the Mu'tazilah is al-Imâm Ibn al-Qayyim using seven verses from the Book of Allah as proof. A person may not realize how some of the verses can be used as proof, but if one ponders they would find that he was correct in using these verses as sound proof indicating that the believers will see Allah in the hereafter. From these verses is the statement of Allah:
𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝑨𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒉, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝑯𝒊𝒎 (𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑯𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓), 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒊𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔."
[Al-Baqarah: 223]
Ibn al-Qayyim said (while explaining this verse) that (an actual) meeting does not take place except if both parties see one another; this is understood from the Arabic language itself. He also mentioned that the verses which those who deny that Allah will be seen hold on to in order to reject the fact that Allah will be seen by the believers in the hereafter, such as the statement of Allah: "𝑵𝒐 𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒑 𝑯𝒊𝒎, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝑮𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒑 𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑯𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝑺𝒖𝒃𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒐𝒖𝒔, 𝑾𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝑨𝒄𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔." [Al-An'am: 103]
Sheikh al-Islâm Ibn Taymiyyah--may Allah, The Most High, have mercy on him -mentioned (about this notion of the Mu'tazilah) that Allah does not praise Himself by simply negating certain characteristics; rather He praises Himself by negating certain characteristics and affirming others. And he mentioned a number of examples to express this point. For example, the statement of Allah: "...𝑵𝒐 𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒑 𝑯𝒊𝒎..."in this verse is an affirmation that Allah will (in fact) be seen in the hereafter, because he did not negate that He will be seen, rather He negated that sight can grasp and encompass Him; indeed Allah is not encompassed by anything. You see the sun and you see sky, and there are many things you may see, but your vision does not encompass these things, even though you may be able to see them in general.
Likewise, the statement of Allah to Musâ (alayhis sallam): “...𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒎𝒆...”
[Al-Ar'af: 143]
Mûsa (alayhis sallam) sought from his Lord that he may see Him. If this was something that was impermissible or impossible, Musa (alayhis sallam) would not have asked for such a thing. So Allah said to him, “...𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒎𝒆,” meaning at this current time. He did not say 'You cannot possibly see Me.'
“...𝒔𝒐 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏, 𝑯𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒑𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒖𝒔𝒕..." [Al- A'râf: 143]
𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥â𝐡 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫*, 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐦 𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐮𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬*, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐮𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦*, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬.*
Explanation by Shaykh Dr. Rabee' ibn Haadee Al- Madkhalee:
*[𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐡 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫]: It is mandatory upon the slave to have firm belief that the believers will see Allâh in the Hereafter. However, the deviant group, the Mutazilah, rejected that Allah will be seen in the Hereafter based on false doubts, but Ahl as-Sunnah refuted them using proofs and evidences from the Book of Allah and the Prophetic Sunnah.
From the scholars who refuted the Mu'tazilah is al-Imâm Ibn al-Qayyim using seven verses from the Book of Allah as proof. A person may not realize how some of the verses can be used as proof, but if one ponders they would find that he was correct in using these verses as sound proof indicating that the believers will see Allah in the hereafter. From these verses is the statement of Allah:
𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝑨𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒉, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝑯𝒊𝒎 (𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑯𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓), 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒊𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔."
[Al-Baqarah: 223]
Ibn al-Qayyim said (while explaining this verse) that (an actual) meeting does not take place except if both parties see one another; this is understood from the Arabic language itself. He also mentioned that the verses which those who deny that Allah will be seen hold on to in order to reject the fact that Allah will be seen by the believers in the hereafter, such as the statement of Allah: "𝑵𝒐 𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒑 𝑯𝒊𝒎, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝑮𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒑 𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑯𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝑺𝒖𝒃𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒐𝒖𝒔, 𝑾𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝑨𝒄𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔." [Al-An'am: 103]
Sheikh al-Islâm Ibn Taymiyyah--may Allah, The Most High, have mercy on him -mentioned (about this notion of the Mu'tazilah) that Allah does not praise Himself by simply negating certain characteristics; rather He praises Himself by negating certain characteristics and affirming others. And he mentioned a number of examples to express this point. For example, the statement of Allah: "...𝑵𝒐 𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒑 𝑯𝒊𝒎..."in this verse is an affirmation that Allah will (in fact) be seen in the hereafter, because he did not negate that He will be seen, rather He negated that sight can grasp and encompass Him; indeed Allah is not encompassed by anything. You see the sun and you see sky, and there are many things you may see, but your vision does not encompass these things, even though you may be able to see them in general.
Likewise, the statement of Allah to Musâ (alayhis sallam): “...𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒎𝒆...”
[Al-Ar'af: 143]
Mûsa (alayhis sallam) sought from his Lord that he may see Him. If this was something that was impermissible or impossible, Musa (alayhis sallam) would not have asked for such a thing. So Allah said to him, “...𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒎𝒆,” meaning at this current time. He did not say 'You cannot possibly see Me.'
“...𝒔𝒐 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏, 𝑯𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒑𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒖𝒔𝒕..." [Al- A'râf: 143]