In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.
A Summary of the Prophetic biography (Seerah).
The most sound view is that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
did not see his Lord on the night of the Mi'raj (Ascension).
The salaf and the later scholars differed
as to whether the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, saw his Lord on the night of the Mi'raj or not,
holding two well-known opinions.
Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar stated in Al-Fath,
that 'A'ishah and Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with them both, held the view that it did not occur.
There is a difference of opinion regarding the report from Abu Dharr, may Allah be pleased with him.
Furthermore, they differed
as to whether he saw Him with his eyes or with his heart.
General reports have been narrated from Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both,
as well as other, qualified reports.
Therefore, the general reports must be interpreted in light of the qualified ones.
Al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir said,
"Nothing authentic regarding this has been narrated from the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them."
Regarding the statement of Al-Baghawi in his Tafsir,
a group held that he saw Him with his eyes,
which is the view of Anas, Al-Hasan, and 'Ikrimah.
And Allah knows best.
Imam Al-Bayhaqi said,
"In the hadith of Sharik, there is an addition,
which he alone narrated, according to the school of those who claim that he, peace be upon him, saw his Lord."
The view of 'A'ishah, Ibn Mas'ud, and Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with them,
in interpreting these verses as referring to his seeing Jibril, peace be upon him, is more correct.
Al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir said, commenting on the words of Al-Bayhaqi,
"This which Al-Bayhaqi stated
is the truth regarding this issue."
Imam Ibn Al-Qayyim said,
"The salaf and the later scholars differed
as to whether this occurred for the master of the children of Adam, may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him.
The majority hold that he did not see Him, glory be to Him.
'Uthman Ibn Sa'id Al-Darimi recorded this as a consensus of the Companions.
So, whoever claims a visual, ocular unveiling of the Divine Reality
has erred and is mistaken.
But if one says it is merely an unveiling of the heart's vision,
such that He, glory be to Him, becomes as if He were visible to the servant,
as the Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
'Worship Allah as if you see Him,'
then this is true,
and it is merely a matter of strength of certainty and increased knowledge.
Yes,
a great light may appear to him,
and he may mistakenly think that it is the light of the Divine Reality,
and that it has manifested to him,
but that is also an error.
For nothing can withstand the light of the Lord, the Exalted.
When the slightest bit of it appeared to the mountain,
the mountain crumbled and collapsed.
Imam Al-Dhahabi said,
"No clear text has reached us
stating that the Prophet, peace be upon him,
saw Allah the Exalted with his eyes."
This issue is one where it is permissible for the Muslim
to remain silent in his religion.
As for dreams,
reports have come through numerous, widespread channels.
As for seeing Allah visually in the Hereafter,
that is a certainty confirmed by successive texts.
A Summary of the Prophetic biography (Seerah),
authored by the Sheikh
Musa bin Rashid Al-'Azimi,
with an introduction by the Mawaddah Association
in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
If the longing of the worlds for one another grows long,
the longing for you has no limit.
May Allah send blessings upon you as long as the call to prayer is raised,
and may your movement with the remainder
be a healing.