Fathwa, - Is it possible to see Allaah in this world?

Question: I have read that no man has seen Allah (S) in this life, not
even the prophet (SM) in his mira'j. The book has been written by Sk.
Abu Ameenah Bilaal Philips. Now, I have heard from one scholar from my
country that Imam Malik saw Allah (S) hundred times in his dream. Is
that possible? May Allah (S) reward you.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
Seeing Allaah in reality (as opposed to in a dream) is not possible in
this life, although no doubt it will happen after death. This is not
because seeing Him is impossible in itself, but because Allaah has
willed that it should not happen. This is for many reasons, some of
which have been found by the scholars, and others which remain known
only to Allaah. Among the reasons which we do understand is human
weakness, which is apparent from the story of Moosa (upon whom be
peace), which we will quote shortly. Another reason is that seeing
Allaah is a great blessing and joy, indeed it is the greatest
blessing, so it is withheld for the place of ultimate blessing and
joy, namely Paradise. Another reason is that this world is a mixture
of good believers and kuffaar, so this blessing is deferred until it
will be given exclusively to the believers in Paradise. Withholding
this blessing until the Hereafter also provides a strong motive to do
good in this world, so that one may see Allaah and feel secure and
content in nearness to Him in the Hereafter.
Evidence that it is not possible to see Allaah in this world
Allaah says, in the story of Moosa (peace be upon him) (interpretation
of the meaning): "And when Moosa came at the time and place appointed
by Us, and his Lord spoke to him, he said, 'O my Lord! Show me
(Yourself), that I may look upon You.' Allaah said, 'You cannot see
Me, but look upon the mountain, if its stands still in its place, then
you shall see Me.' So when his Lord appeared to the mountain, He made
it collapse to dust, and Moosa fell down unconscious. Then when he
recovered his senses he said, 'Glory be to You, I turn to You in
repentance and I am the first of the believers.'" [al-A'raaf 7:143].
The word lan (here translated as cannot in 'You cannot see Me')
conveys the meaning of 'You will not see Me in this life', because
there is evidence that man will see Allaah in the Hereafter, which
means that this lan is not eternal in application. (The negative
particle lan often carries a sense of eternal negation, that something
will never happen, but this is not the case here. Translator).
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): "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'aam 6:103]. The commentator
al-Haafiz Ibn Katheer (may Allaah have mercy on him) said, in his
tafseer of this aayah: "Concerning the phrase No vision can grasp Him,
several comments regarding it have been narrated from the imaams of
the salaf, one of which is that it means, you will not be able to see
Him in this world, even though you will see Him in the Hereafter. The
reports that state this, narrated from the Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him), reach the level of mutawaatir
and are reported through more than one sound isnaad in the books of
Saheeh, Musnad and Sunan. [Translator's note: a mutawaatir report is
one that was narrated by so many to so many that it is inconceivable
that they could all have agreed on a lie].
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): "It is not given to any
human being that Allaah should speak to him unless (it be) by
inspiration, or from behind a veil, or (that) He sends a Messenger to
reveal what He will by His Leave. Verily, He is Most High, Most Wise."
[al-Shoora 42:51].
Abu Hurayrah said: "Some people said, 'O Messenger of Allaah, will we
see our Lord on the Day of Resurrection?' He said, 'Do you have any
doubt about seeing the sun on a cloudless day?' They said, 'No, O
Messenger of Allaah.' He said, 'Do you have any doubt about seeing the
full moon on a cloudless night?' They said, 'No, O Messenger of
Allaah.' He said, 'You will see Him just as clearly on the Day of
Resurrection…'" (Reported by al-Bukhaari, 6088). It is clear that the
idea that Allaah will not be seen in this life was well-entrenched in
the minds of the Sahaabah. They were asking about the Hereafter, and
this is what the Prophet's answer also referred to.
Abu Dharr said: "I asked the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him), 'Have you seen your Lord?' He said, '(There
is) light, how could I see Him?'" This light, which prevented him from
seeing Him, is a veil of light, which is further explained in the
hadeeth of Abu Moosa, who said, "The Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) stood up and told us five things:
'Allaah does not sleep, and it is not befitting that He should sleep.
He lowers the scale and lifts it. The deeds in the night are taken up
to Him before the deeds of the day, and the deeds of the day before
the deeds of the night. His veil is the light. If He were to withdraw
it (the veil), the splendour of His countenance would consume His
creation as far as His sight reaches.'" (Reported by Imaam Ahmad and
Muslim, 263).
Further clear evidence comes in the hadeeth which warns against the
Dajjaal (antichrist): "Written between his eyes is (the word) kaafir,
which will be read by everyone who hates his works, or every believer
will read it. Know that none of you will see your Lord until he dies."
(Reported by Muslim, 5215).
So any claim that anyone but the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) can see Allaah in reality is impossible, according
to the consensus of the scholars. However, there is some disagreement
among the scholars as to whether or not the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) saw Allaah on the night of the
Mi'raaj. The correct view is that he did not see Him physically, with
his own two eyes, because when he was asked about this, he said,
"(There is) light, how could I see Him?" According to another report,
he said, "I saw light." The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) did not see Him, but he saw His veil of light.
The question of whether Allaah may be seen in a dream does not
contradict the fact that Allaah cannot be seen in reality in this
world, because all the texts quoted above speak about physical vision
when one is awake, not the "vision" of the heart when one is asleep.
Proof that the latter kind of vision is possible is to be seen in the
hadeeth about the dispute of the "chiefs on high" (the angels). Ibn
'Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) said, "The Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, 'My Lord came
to me tonight in the most beautiful form.' I think he said, 'in a
dream. He said, "O Muhammad, do you know what the chiefs on high
disputed about?" I said, "No." He put His hand between my
shoulder-blades and I could feel its coolness on my chest (or just
beneath my throat), then I knew everything that is in the heavens and
on earth. He said, "O Muhammad, do you know what the chiefs on high
disputed about?" I said, "Yes." He said, "About expiation, and
expiation is staying in the mosque after prayers, walking to join
congregational prayers, and doing wudoo' properly in adverse
conditions. Whoever does that will live a good life and die a good
death, and will be as sinless as the day his mother bore him." He
said, "O Muhammad, when you pray, say Allaahumma innee as'aluka fa'l
al-khayraat wa tark al-munkaraat wa hubb al-masaakeen, wa idha aradta
bi 'ibaadika fitnatan fa'qbudni ilayka ghayra maftoon (O Allaah, I ask
you to make me do good deeds and avoid evil deeds, and to make me love
the poor and wretched. If You want to test Your slaves, then take me
unto You without subjecting me to the trial). One's status in Paradise
may be raised by spreading the greeting of salaam, feeding others, and
praying at night when people are sleeping."'" (Reported by Imaam
Ahmad, 16026; and by al-Tirmidhi, 3159, who said it is a saheeh hasan
hadeeth).
Some of the scholars have commented that it is possible to see Allaah
in a dream.
Imaam al-Daarimi said, in his refutation of Bishr ibn Ghiyaath, "This
seeing took place in a dream, and in a dream it is possible to see
Allaah in any shape or form." (p. 166)
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said, "A believer may see his Lord in a
dream, in various forms according to his faith and belief. If his
eemaan is correct, he can only see Him in a beautiful form, and if his
faith is lacking, this will be reflected in the way he sees Him.
Seeing Allaah in a dream is not like seeing Him in reality. It may
have different interpretations and meanings referring to something in
reality." (al-Fataawa, 3/390)
He also said, "Whoever sees Allaah in a dream sees Him in a form that
corresponds to his own state. If he is righteous, he will see Him in a
beautiful form, which is why the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) saw him in the most beautiful form. (al-Fataawa,
5/251)
Shaykh 'Abd al-Azeez ibn Baaz was asked about the ruling concerning
one who claims to have seen the Lord of Glory in a dream, and whether
it was true, as some claim, that Imaam Ahmad ibn Hanbal had seen the
Lord of Glory in his dreams more than one hundred times. The Shaykh
answered as follows:
"Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) and
others said that it is possible for a man to see his Lord in a dream,
but what he sees is not reality, because there is nothing like Allaah,
may He be glorified and exalted. Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning): '… There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearer,
the All-Seer.' [al-Shoora 42:11]. Nothing in His creation is like unto
Him. A person may dream that his Lord is speaking to him, and no
matter what kind of image he sees, that image is not Allaah, because
there is nothing that is like Allaah in any way. Shaykh Taqiy al-Deen
(may Allaah have mercy on him) mentioned that dreams differ according
to the state of the person who is dreaming. The more righteous and
closer to goodness a person is, the more correct his dream will be,
but the truth is still something other than what he sees, because the
guiding principle is still that there is nothing like unto Allaah.
He may hear a voice and be told such-and-such, or to do such-and-such,
without any clear image resembling anything in creation, because there
is nothing at all like unto Allaah… Some people may imagine that they
have seen their Lord when in fact this is not the case. The Shaytaan
may deceive a person and make him imagine that he is their Lord, as it
was reported that he made 'Abd al-Qaadir al-Jeelaani see him on a
throne above water, and said, 'I am your Lord and I freed you from
doing any duties (worship, etc.).' 'Abd al-Qaadir al-Jeelaani said,
'Get lost, O enemy of Allaah! You are not my Lord, because the
commands of my Lord are not cancelled for anyone,' or some similar
words.
As for whether Imaam Ahmad saw his Lord, I do not know if this is true
or not. It is said that he saw his Lord but I do not know if this is
true." And Allaah knows best.