Praise be to Allaah.
There is nothing in the Qur'aan or Sunnah to indicate that Jibreel
(peace be upon him) or any other angel has seenAllah, may He be
exalted,and it is well known thatthis is one of the issues of the
unseen which cannot be proven excepton the basis of evidence.
In the hadeeth of the Mi'raaj (Prophet's ascent to heaven) it says
that Jibreel (peace be upon him) ascended with our Prophet (blessings
and peace of Allah be upon him) to a level where thescratching of the
pens could be heard, but there is no proof that either of them saw
Allah (may He be glorified andexalted) in that place.
The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "Then I
passed by Ibraaheem, and he said: 'Welcome tothe righteous Prophet and
the righteous son.' I said: 'Who is this?' He said: 'This is Ibraaheem
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him).'" IbnShihaab said: And Ibn
Hazm told me that Ibn 'Abbaas and Abu Habbahal-Ansaari used to say:
The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "Then I
was taken up until we reached a level where I could hear the
scratching of the pens." Ibn Hazm and Anas ibn Maalik said: The
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "Allah
enjoined upon myummah fifty prayers, and I went back with that until I
passed by Moosa…"
Narrated by al-Bukhaari,349; Muslim, 263
The scholars differed concerning this seeing: some of them affirmed
itand some of them denied it.
Ibn Hajar al-Haythami (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked: ||Do
the angels see Allah, mayHe be exalted?
He replied:
Shaykh 'Izz al-Deen ibn 'Abd al-Salaam stated that they do not see
Him,and he quoted evidence at length to support that, and he was
followed in that by somescholars, but he was refuted by the
statementof the imam of Ahl al-Sunnah, Shaykh Abu'l-Hasan al-Ash'ari
(may Allah be pleased with him) who said that they do see Him. This
was mentioned in his book al-Ibaanah fi Usool al-Diyaanah. He was
followed by al-Bayhaqi who narrated it with its isnaad from 'Abd-Allah
ibn 'Amr ibn al-'Aas and another Sahaabi. This was also followed by
Ibnal-Qayyim and al-Jalaal al-Balqeeni. According toa hadeeth that was
classed as saheeh by al-Haakim, Jibreel never saw his Lord before the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) prostrated before
his Lord on that occasion, but this does not necessarily mean that he
did not see Him after that or that others of the angels do not see
Him. The view that only Jibreel could see Him is invalid.
End quote from al-Fataawa al-Hadeethiyyah, p. 153
Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked: Do the angels
see their Lord in this world or does He send revelation to them from
beyond a screen?
He replied: Allah knows best.
End quote from Fataawa Noor 'ala al-Darb.
Shaykh 'Abd al-Rahmaanal-Barraak (may Allah preserve him) was asked:
There is evidence to suggest that they do not see Him. That is the
versein Soorat Ghaafir in which Allah, may He be exalted, says
(interpretation of the meaning): "Those (angels) who bear the Throne
(of Allâh) and those around it glorify the praises of their Lord, and
believe in Him, and ask forgiveness for thosewho believe (in the
Oneness of Allâh) (saying): 'Our Lord! You comprehend all things
inmercy and knowledge, so forgive those who repent and follow Your
Way, and save them from the torment of the blazing Fire!'" [Ghaafir
40:7].
The word "believe" in this verse may point to that meaning -- is this correct?
He replied:
The fact that Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says of the
angels who bear the Throne and who are around it that they believe in
Him does not necessarily mean that they do not see Him, or that some
of them do not see Him, or that other angels do not see Him, just as
(aspiring to) see Him does not contradict faith. Similarly, the fact
that Allah spoke (to some of the Prophets) is not contrary to faith.
Ibraaheem (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) saw how Allah
brought the dead back to life and that increased him in faith, asAllah
says (interpretationof the meaning):
"And (remember) when Ibrâhim (Abraham) said, 'My Lord! Show me how You
give life to the dead.' He (Allâh) said: 'Doyou not believe?' He
[Ibrâhim (Abraham)] said: 'Yes (I believe), but to be stronger in
Faith'"
[al-Baqarah 2:260].
Allah spoke to Moosa (peace be upon him) from behind a screen, and
that does not mean that he did not believe. To sum up, there is no
contradiction between faith and seeing Him. This is borne out by the
fact that Moosa (peace be upon him) asked his Lord to let him see Him
so as to increase him in faith: "…he said: 'O my Lord! Show me
(Yourself), that I may look upon You'" [al-A'raaf 7:143]. Yes, after
seeing Allah, faith will no longer be regarded as belief in theunseen,
so it is possible that the bearers of the Throne and those who are
around it may have seen Allah and thus attained the highest level of
certainty. By the same token, when the believers see their Lord on the
Day of Resurrection, they will move from certainty based on knowledge
to certainty based on seeing, for when they see Allah they will
believe in Him with the faith of having seen and they will find the
deepest joy in that; they will be blessed with seeing Him and hearing
His words. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"Some faces that Day shall be Nâdirah (shiningand radiant).
Looking at their Lord (Allâh)"
[al-Qiyaamah :22-23].
We ask Allah for the joy of looking upon His noble Countenance. And
Allah knows best.
End quote from Fataawa al-Islam al-Yawm.
To sum up: This is a matter of the unseen and it is not permissible to
affirm it or deny it except on the basis of evidence. The correct
approach is to refrain from asking about it.
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