Da'eef (weak) hadeeths, Dought & clear, - * The story of Tha‘labah who saw a woman doing ghusl, and died from fear of Allah

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I would like to find out whether a story I have heard is saheeh (sound, true). If it turns out to be da‘eef (weak), is it still permissible to tell it? Because telling it has a good effect on people’s hearts. When I tell it, do I have to do point out that it is da‘eef? The story is as follows:
Tha‘labah ibn ‘Abd ar-Rahmaan was an orphan boy of the Ansaar, who was no older than sixteen years. He often used to sit with the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), who sent him on an errand one day to the markets of Madinah. He passed by one of the houses of the Ansaar, and looked at the door of the house, which was open. There was a curtain to the hamaam (bathroom) that was closed, but the wind came and lifted the curtain, behind which there was a woman who was doing ghusl. He glanced at her once or twice, then he realised what was happening and took the matter very seriously. He was afraid that verses would be revealed concerning him and that he would be described as one of the hypocrites because of this sin. He was afraid to go back to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), so he went out into the desert, and no one knew where he had gone. When three days had gone by, (the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)) instructed some of the Sahaabah to go and look for him in Madinah, but they found no trace of him. He waited until forty days had passed, then he instructed them to look for him in the wilderness areas, because he (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) was worried about him. They went and looked for him, and they came to a group of Bedouin and described him to them. The Bedouin said: Perhaps you are looking for the weeping boy? They said: Where is he? They said: On the slopes of this mountain; he will come down at the end of the day. So they lay in wait for him then they caught him and carried him to his house, because he was exhausted from weeping so much. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) went to him, and Tha‘labah asked him whether any verses had been revealed concerning him. He said: “No.” Tha‘labah became very sick, and the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) sat beside him until he died (may Allah be pleased with him). Then they offered the funeral prayer for him and when they carried the bier to bury him, the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) was walking on tiptoe. ‘Umar asked him about that and he said: “Woe to you, O ‘Umar. By Allah, I cannot find any place to put my feet because so many of the angels are crowding around me.”
Praise be to Allah.
The story mentioned in the question is a summary of a lengthy story that was narrated from Jaabir ibn ‘Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) who said:
A young man of the Ansaar who was called Tha‘labah ibn ‘Abd ar-Rahmaan became Muslim, and he used to serve the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). He sent him on an errand, and he passed by the door of a man among the Ansaar, where he saw an Ansaari woman doing ghusl. He looked repeatedly at her, after which he became afraid that Revelation would come down to the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), so he went out, fleeing, and came to a mountainous area between Makkah and Madinah, where he hid. The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) missed him for forty days, and these were the days when they said his Lord had forsaken him and was displeased with him, then Jibreel (peace be upon him) came down to the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and said: O Muhammad, your Lord conveys greetings of peace (salaam) to you, and says: The man from your ummah who has fled is in these mountains, seeking refuge with Me from My Fire. The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “O ‘Umar! O Salmaan! Go and bring Tha‘labah ibn ‘Abd ar-Rahmaan to me.” They set out through the streets of Madinah and were met by one of the shepherds of Madinah whose name was Dhufaafah. ‘Umar said to him: O Dhufaafah, do you know anything about a young man in these mountains? Dhufaafah said to him: Perhaps you are looking for the one who is fleeing from Hell? ‘Umar said to him: How do you know that he is fleeing from Hell? He said: Because in the middle of the night he came out to us from these mountains with his hand on his head, saying: Would that You took my soul as You took other souls and my body as You took other bodies, and not expose me on the Day of Judgement! ‘Umar said: He is the one we are looking for. So Dhufaafah set out with them, and in the middle of the night he came out to them from those mountains, with his hand on his head, saying: Would that You took my soul as You took other souls and my body as You took other bodies, and not expose me on the Day of Judgement! ‘Umar went to him and embraced him and (Tha‘labah) said: I want to be safe from the Fire. ‘Umar said to him: I am ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab. He said: O ‘Umar, does the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) know of my sin? He said: All I know is that he remembered you yesterday, and the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) wept. Tha‘labah said: O ‘Umar, do not let me enter upon him except when he is praying, and Bilaal is sayingQad qaamat as-salaah(Prayer is about to begin – i.e., the iqaamah or call immediately preceding the prayer). ‘Umar said: I shall do that. Then they brought him to Madinah and arrived when the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) was praying Fajr. ‘Umar and Salmaan hastened to join the row (of worshippers), and no sooner did Tha‘labah hear the recitation of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), but he fell unconscious. When the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said the salaam (at the end of the prayer), he said: “O ‘Umar, O Salmaan, what happened to Tha‘labah ibn ‘Abd ar-Rahmaan?” They said: He is over there, O Messenger of Allah. The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) stood up and said: “O Tha‘labah!” He said: Here I am, O Messenger of Allah. He looked at him and said: “What kept you away from me?” He said: My sin, O Messenger of Allah. He said: “Shall I not tell you about a verse that will expiate sins and errors?” He said: Yes, O Messenger of Allah. He said: “Say:Allaahumma aatina fi’d-dunya hasanah wa fi’l-aakhirati hasanah wa qinna ‘adhaab an-naar(O Allah! Give us in this world that which is good and in the Hereafter that which is good, and save us from the torment of the Fire) (cf. al-Baqarah 2:201).” He said: My sin is too great, O Messenger of Allah. The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Rather the word of Allah is greater.” Then the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) instructed him to go home. He fell sick for eight days, then Salmaan came to the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah, do you want to visit Tha‘labah, because he is sick? The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Let us go to him.” When he entered upon him, the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) took hold of his head and placed it in his lap, but he pulled his head away from the lap of the Messenger of Allah. The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said to him: “Why did you pull your head away from my lap?” He said: Because it is full of sins. He said: “What do you feel?” He said: I feel something like the crawling of ants between my skin and my bones. He said: “What do you long for?” He said: The forgiveness of my Lord. Then Jibreel (peace be upon him) came down to the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and said: Verily your Lord conveys greetings of salaam to you and says: If this slave of Mine were to meet Me with an earthful of sins, I would meet him with a similar measure of forgiveness. The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Should I not tell him about that?” He said: Yes indeed. So the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) told him about that, and he gave a shout then died. The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) gave instructions that he should be washed and shrouded, and he offered the funeral prayer for him. Then the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) began walking on tiptoe and they said: O Messenger of Allah, why do we see you walking on tiptoe? He said: By the One Who sent me with the truth as a Prophet, I could not put my feet on the ground because of the many wings of the angels who came down to accompany his funeral procession.
Narrated by Abu Na‘eem inHilyat al-Awliya’, 9/329-331; and inMa‘rifat as-Sahaabah, 1/498, and via him by Ibn al-Jawzi inal-Mawdoo‘aat, 3/121
Al-Kharaa’iti narrated it inI‘tilaal al-Quloob, 272; it was narrated via him by Ibn Qudaamah inat-Tawwaabeen, 105-108
It was narrated by Abu ‘Abd ar-Rahmaan as-Sulami inTabaqaat as-Soofiyyah, p. 51; and by Ibn Mandah in brief, as mentioned inal-Isaabahby Ibn Hajar, 1/405
All of them narrated it via Sulaym ibn Mansoor ibn ‘Ammaar: my father told us, from al-Munkadir ibn Muhammad ibn al-Munkadir, from his father, from Jaabir ibn ‘Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him)… And he quoted the story.
But the report of al-Kharaa’iti does not refer to the verse in which Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):“your Lord has not forsaken you, nor is He displeased with you” [ad-Duha 93:3].
This hadeeth is da‘eef, and has a number of problems.
1.
None of the scholars stated in clear terms that Sulaym ibn Mansoor ibn ‘Ammaar was reliable.
Ibn Abi Haatim (may Allah have mercy on him) said: My father narrated from him, and I asked him about him. I said: The scholars of Baghdad criticise him. He said: Stop. I asked Ibn Abi’th-Thalj about him. I said to him: They are saying that he wrote down hadeeth from Ibn ‘Aliyyah when he was young. He said: No; rather he was older than us. End quote.
Al-Jarh wa’t-Ta‘deel, 4?216
Adh-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
He was criticised but his hadeeth was not rejected. End quote.
Al-Mughni fi’d-Du‘afa’, 1/285
Some of the scholars stated that there was an investigation to see if there were any similar reports, but it was not thorough.
Ibn ‘Iraq said:
There was an investigation to see if there were any other reports that were similar to that of Sulaym. That was narrated by ‘Uthmaan ibn ‘Umar ad-Darraaj in his book. He said: Abu Nasr Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hishaam at-Taaliqaani told us: my grandfather told me: Mansoor ibn ‘Ammaar told us. But I do not know who this at-Taaliqaani was. End quote.
Tanzeeh ash-Sharee‘ah, 1/349
2.
The preacher Mansoor ibn ‘Ammaar.
He was extremely eloquent in preaching and was able to move people deeply. He preached in Baghdad, Syria and Egypt, and he became very famous.
Abu Haatim said: He is not qawiy (strong). Ibn ‘Adiyy said: His hadeeth is odd. Al-‘Uqayli said: He is influenced by Jahami views. Ad-Daaraqutni said: He narrated from da‘eef narrators hadeeths that were not narrated by others.
See:Mizaan al-I‘tidaal, 4/187-188
3.
Al-Munkadir ibn Muhammad ibn al-Munkadir
Ibn ‘Uyaynah said: He was not a scholar of hadeeth. It was narrated from Yahya ibn Ma‘een: He is insignificant. On one occasion he said: There is nothing wrong with him. Abu Zar‘ah said: He is not qawiy (strong). Abu Haatim said: He was a man who did not understand hadeeth. He made many mistakes and did not memorise the hadeeth of his father. Al-Jawzjaani and an-Nasaa’i said: (He is) da‘eef . al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar summed up the ruling on him inat-Taqreeb, where he said: His hadeeth is not very strong.
See:Tahdheeb at-Tahdheeb, 10/318
4.
There are also problems in the text of the hadeeth:
The verse referred to in the hadeeth –“your Lord has not forsaken you, nor is He displeased with you” [ad-Duha 93:3]– was revealed in Makkah before the Hijrah, but this hadeeth suggests that it was revealed in Madinah after the Hijrah. This is a serious contradiction.
Ibn al-Jawzi (may Allah have mercy on him) was certain that it is fabricated, as he said:
This is a fabricated hadeeth that is very strange, and the fabricator exposed his fabrication when he said: that was when the verse“your Lord has not forsaken you, nor is He displeased with you” [ad-Duha 93:3]was revealed to him. But this verse was revealed to him in Makkah, and there is no scholarly disagreement concerning that. Moreover there was no one among the Sahaabah who was called Dhufaafah. Its isnaad contains a number of da‘eef narrators, including al-Munkadir, of whom Yahya said: He is insignificant, and Ibn Hibbaan said: He used to say things on the basis of his imagination. So his reports are not valid to be used as proof. Another (of these da‘eef narrators) is Sulaym ibn Mansoor, who was criticized by some scholars of hadeeth. End quote.
Al-Mawdoo‘aat, 3/123. As-Suyooti agreed with him inal-La’aali al-Masnoo‘ah, 1/416
Ibn al-Atheer (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
There are other issues in it apart from its isnaad. The verse“your Lord has not forsaken you, nor is He displeased with you” [ad-Duha 93:3]was revealed in the early days of Islam, in Makkah, and the hadeeth which proves that is saheeh. But this story supposedly took place after the Hijrah, and the two reports cannot be reconciled. End quote.
Asad al-Ghaabah, 1/385
Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Ibn Mandah said – after narrating it in brief: Mansoor is the only one who narrated it. I [i.e., al-Haafiz ibn Hajar] say: There is some weakness in him, and his shaykh is weaker than him. The content of the hadeeth also indicates that it is weak, because the verse“your Lord has not forsaken you, nor is He displeased with you” [ad-Duha 93:3]was revealed before the Hijrah, and there is no difference of scholarly opinion concerning that. End quote.
Al-Isaabah, 1/405. It was narrated and confirmed by as-Sakhkhaawi inat-Tuhfah al-Lateefah fi Tareekh al-Madinah ash-Shareefah, 152.
To sum up: the isnaad of this story is a chain of weak narrators, and its text also shows that it is strange. So it is not permissible to narrate it or speak of it unless one explains that it is da‘eef (weak) and that it has to do with heart-softening reports (raqaa’iq) which we cannot be less stringent about. That is because its isnaad is extremely weak, and those scholars who regarded it as permissible to narrate da‘eef hadeeths in the category of heart-softening reports stipulated that they should not be extremely weak and should not have any odd content.
And Allah knows best.

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- PUBLISHERNajimudeeN M. MD, IRI (Managing Director, Islamic Research Institution)

Da'eef (weak) hadeeths, Dought & clear, - * The station of praise and glory (al-maqaam al-mahmood) is intercession; it does not refer to the Prophet (blessings andpeace of Allah be upon him) sitting on the Throne

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How sound is Imam Mujaahid’s commentary on the verse in which Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “It may be that your Lord will raise you to Maqaman Mahmooda (a station of praise and glory)” [al-Isra’ 17:79]? He says that Allah, may He be exalted, will seat Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) with Him on His Kursiy (footstool) or that his Lord will seat Muhammad the Messenger of Allah on the Throne with Him.
Praise be to Allah.
The issue of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) being seated on the Throne was and still is a cause of debate and argument. Before discussing whether these words are sound or not, we should point out a number of things:
Firstly:
With regard to affirmation of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) being seated on the Throne, there is no acceptable hadeeth with a sound isnaad from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). The foundation on which the belief of Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa‘ah is based is that whatever matters of the unseen the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said nothing about remain matters belonging to the unseen and it is not permissible to indulge in discussion of them by way of certainty and faith.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The hadeeth about the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) sitting on the Throne was narrated by a number of people via many marfoo‘ isnaads (i.e., attributed to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)), but all of them are mawdoo‘ (fabricated).
End quote fromDar’ Ta‘aarud al-‘Aql wa’n-Naql, 3/19
Adh-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
No text concerning the issue of our Prophet sitting on the Throne is proven; there is a waahin (worthless) report concerning this matter.
End quote fromal-‘Uluw, 2/1081, no. 422
Secondly:
Interpreting the Holy Qur’an on the basis of what is narrated in the saheeh Sunnah is more appropriate than adopting the interpretation of any of the Taabi‘een – even if he was as knowledgeable as Mujaahid (may Allah have mercy on him) – especially when we know that there is a report from Mujaahid himself that explains this verse in a manner that is in accordance with the saheeh hadeeths and texts, as we shall see below.
It was narrated from Ka‘b ibn Maalik that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “The people will be resurrected on the Day of Resurrection, and my ummah and I will be on a hill. My Lord, may He be blessed and exalted, will give me a green suit to wear, then permission will be given to me and I shall say whatever Allah wills I should say, and that is the station of praise and glory (al-maqaam al-mahmood).” Narrated by Ahmad inal-Musnad, 25/60, Mu’sasat ar-Risaalah edn.
The editors of this edition (ofMusnad Ahmad) said: Its isnaad is saheeh according to the conditions of Muslim; its men are thiqaat (trustworthy), the men of the two shaykhs (al-Bukhaari and Muslim), apart from Yazeed ibn ‘Abd Rabbihi – who is az-Zubaydi al-Homsi – who was one of the men of Muslim; and ‘Abd ar-Rahmaan ibn ‘Abdullah ibn Ka‘b ibn Maalik – they differed as to whether he heard from his grandfather, but the correct view is that he did hear from him. End quote.
Another of the saheeh mawqoof reports is that narrated from Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him): “On the Day of Resurrection, the people will be divided into groups. Each group will follow their Prophet, saying: O So and so, intercede (for us), until the matter of intercession will come to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). That is the day on which Allah will raise him to the station of praise and glory (al-maqaam al-mahmood). Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 4718. He included it in a chapter entitled“It may be that your Lord will raise you to Maqaman Mahmooda (a station of praise and glory)” [al-Isra’ 17:79]. Al-Bukhaari favoured this interpretation of the verse. The interpretation of this verse as referring to the greater intercession is the only view referred to by al-Haafiz Ibn Katheer inTafseer al-Qur’an al-‘Azeem, 5/103. He narrated it from many of the Sahaabah and Taabi‘een. Ibn Jareer at-Tabari said concerning that: It is the view of most of the commentators.
This is the most appropriate interpretation of this verse.
Thirdly:
The fact that some of the scholars quoted Mujaahid’s words without objection does not mean that they are of the same view; rather that comes under the heading of being too lenient when quoting reports that speak of the virtues (of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)).
Abu Muhammad narrated from Bashshaar, that ‘Abdullah ibn Ahmad said, concerning his father:
He would be asked about a particular hadeeth and he would say: This was narrated by So and so – a man whom he would name. But if he was asked about a da‘eef hadeeth, he would say: Cross it out. He was asked about the hadeeth of Mujaahid and he classed it as da‘eef. He said: O my father, Should I cross it out? He said: No; this is a hadeeth that speaks of some virtue (of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)), so take it as it is, and do not cross it out. End quote.
Narrated inIbtaal at-Ta’weelaat, p. 489
This report indicates the reason why the report of Mujaahid became well-known, which is that some of the leading scholars of hadeeth, such as Imam Ahmad, did not say anything about this report. So some of the scholars thought that this meant that they accepted its content and believed it. So it was said that it is one of the reports that were accepted.
In fact that is not the case. Many of the scholars clearly stated that these words that were spoken by Mujaahid were not sound.
Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
This is the view of the people of knowledge regarding the interpretation of the verse in which Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):“It may be that your Lord will raise you to Maqaman Mahmooda (a station of praise and glory)” [al-Isra’ 17:79]as referring to intercession.
It was narrated from Mujaahid that the station of praise and glory (al-maqaam al-mahmood) means that He will seat him with Him on the Throne on the Day of Resurrection; in their view this is a wrong interpretation of this verse.
The view of the majority of scholars among the Sahaabah, Taabi‘een and those who came after them is that the station of praise and glory is the station at which he will intercede for his ummah. There is a report from Mujaahid that says something similar to the view of the majority, so it becomes consensus on the interpretation of this verse among those who have knowledge of the Qur’an and Sunnah.
Ibn Abi Shaybah narrated from Warqa’, from Ibn Abi Nujayh, from Mujaahid, that he said concerning the verse,“It may be that your Lord will raise you to Maqaman Mahmooda (a station of praise and glory)” [al-Isra’ 17:79]: (This refers to) the intercession of Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him).
End quote fromat-Tamheed, 19/63-64
Imam adh-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
One of the oddest and most objectionable ideas is that which was narrated from Mujaahid concerning the interpretation of the verse in which Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):“It may be that your Lord will raise you to Maqaman Mahmooda (a station of praise and glory)” [al-Isra’ 17:79], that he said: He will seat him with Him on the Throne. End quote fromMizaan al-I‘tidaal, 3/439
He also said (may Allah have mercy on him):
The interpretation that Mujaahid gave of this verse, as we have quoted above, was rejected by some of the scholars. Al-Mirwadhi put a great deal of effort into supporting this view (of Mujaahid), and he compiled a book concerning the matter, and he narrated the view of Mujaahid via Layth ibn Abi Sulaym, ‘Ata ibn as-Saa’ib, Abu Yahya Qattaat and Jaabir ibn Yazeed. … So see, may Allah protect you from following whims and desires, how this scholar of hadeeth went to extremes in his support for Mujaahid, which caused him to accept this odd and objectionable report.
End quote fromal-‘Uluw, 2/1081-1090, no. 422-426
Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
One of the things that indicate that is the fact that it is proven inas-Sihaahthat the station of praise and glory is intercession that will be granted only to our Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him).
It is astounding that some of the earlier scholars supported this report from Mujaahid, as was narrated by adh-Dhahabi from more than one of them. Indeed, one of the hadeeth scholars went to extremes and said: If someone swore an oath of threefold divorce to say that Allah will seat Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) on the Throne, and he were to consult me, I would say to him: You are right and have spoken the truth!
It is such extreme views (on the part of those who affirmed the divine attributes) that led those who deny the divine attributes to persist in their way and to cast aspersions upon Ahl as-Sunnah who affirm the divine attributes, and accuse them of likening Allah to His creation and describing Him in physical terms. But in fact, the path of truth lay between these two extremes.
May Allah have mercy on a man who believed what was narrated in saheeh reports from the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) concerning the divine attributes and other matters in a true sense and in a manner that is befitting to Allah, may He be exalted, and they did not accept concerning that matter anything that was not narrated from him (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) in a saheeh report, such as this hadeeth [i.e., the hadeeth, “… and He will seat me on the Throne…”], let alone any report such as this one.
End quote fromas-Silsilah ad-Da‘eefah, 865
Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allah have mercy on him) also said:
The narration of da‘eef hadeeths from some hadeeth scholars is something for which their opponents criticise them, even though they (their opponents) may say things even worse than that, as was explained by Shaykh al-Islam.
One of the most famous of those who criticised them (Ahl as-Sunnah) for that in the modern era, and took it as proof of their (alleged) foolishness and misguidance, is Shaykh al-Kawthari who is known for his extreme hostility towards Ahl as-Sunnah and the scholars of hadeeth, and for his accusing them of likening Allah to His creation and thinking of Him in physical terms. By doing that he has wronged them and fabricated lies against them.
But – as a matter of fact – he sometimes found in some of the hadeeths and reports that they narrated material on which he could base his false accusations, such as the hadeeth that is narrated in the commentaries on the verse in which Allah, may He be exalted,“It may be that your Lord will raise you to Maqaman Mahmooda (a station of praise and glory)” [al-Isra’ 17:79], according to which he said “… and He will seat me on the Throne…”
In fact the true interpretation of the station of praise and glory, beyond any shadow of a doubt, is intercession. This is what was classed as saheeh by Imam Ibn Jareer in hisTafseer, then by al-Qurtubi; this is the only view mentioned by al-Haafiz Ibn Katheer who did not mention any other view, and he quoted hadeeths to support that.
In fact this is what is proven from Mujaahid himself via two isnaads from him, as quoted by Ibn Jareer.
That report from him does not have any reliable isnaad. Adh-Dhahabi stated that it was narrated from Layth ibn Abi Sulaym, ‘Ata’ ibn as-Saa’ib, Abu Yahya al-Qattaat and Jaabir ibn Yazeed. The first two were confused and the last two were da‘eef; in fact the last one (Jaabir ibn Yazeed) is matrook (i.e., his hadeeths are not accepted) and he was accused (of dishonesty). … To sum up, these words of Mujaahid, even if they are narrated soundly from him, cannot be adopted as part of our religion and belief, so long as there is no corroborating evidence for it from the Qur’an and Sunnah.
End quote fromMukhtasar al-‘Uluw, 14-20
Thus it is clear that the correct interpretation of the station of praise and glory is that it is the station of intercession, and it is not as mentioned in this report from Mujaahid (may Allah have mercy on him).
And Allah knows best.

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- PUBLISHERNajimudeeN M. MD, IRI (Managing Director, Islamic Research Institution)

Belief in the Last Day and the Signs of the Hour, Dought&clear, - * Will the believers see their Lord in Paradise once, or will they see Him all the time, or will that be only on Fridays?

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It was narrated from Suhayb ar-Roomi (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) that he said: “When the people of Paradise enter Paradise, Allah – may He be blessed and exalted – will say: ‘Do you want anything more?’ They will say: Have You not made our faces bright? Have You not admitted us to Paradise and saved us from Hell?’ Then the veil will be removed and they will not be given anything more beloved to them than looking at their Lord, may He be glorified and exalted.” Narrated by Muslim. According to this hadeeth, will the believers’ seeing Allah after entering Paradise happen only once, or will the people of Paradise see Allah all the time and at any time, or will it be once every Friday, as I have heard before?
Praise be to Allah
Part of the belief of Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa‘ah is that the believers will see their Lord, may He be glorified, on the Day of Resurrection and in Paradise, because Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Some faces that Day shall be Nadirah (shining and radiant).
Looking at their Lord (Allah).”
[al-Qiyaamah :22-23].
And there is other evidence to that effect.
This is the greatest blessing that He, may He be glorified, will bestow upon them.
See also the answers to questions no. 14525and 116644.
Secondly:
The people of Paradise will have a gathering with their Lord every Friday on which they will have the blessing of gazing upon His noble Countenance.
At-Tabaraani narrated inal-Mu‘jam al-Kabeer(6717) that Anas ibn Maalik said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Jibreel came to me with something like a white mirror in his hand, on which there was a black spot. I said: ‘What is this, O Jibreel?’ He said: ‘This is Jumu‘ah (Friday); it is the master of days and we call it Yawm al-Mazeed (the day of more – cf.“There they will have all that they desire, and We have more (for them, i.e. a glance at the All-Mighty, All-Majestic)” [Qaaf 50:35]).’ I said: ‘O Jibreel, what does “more” mean?’ He said: ‘That is because your Lord has allocated a valley in Paradise that is more fragrant than white musk. When Friday comes, among the days in the hereafter, the Lord, may He be blessed and exalted, will descend from His Throne (‘Arsh) to His Kursiy, and the Kursiy will be surrounded with seats of light on which the Prophets will sit. These seats will be surrounded with footstools of gold on which the martyrs will sit. The people of the chambers will come down from the chambers and sit on sand hills of musk, and those who sit on the sand hills will not think that those who sit on the footstools and seats are any better off than them. Then the Owner of Majesty and Honour will appear and say: ‘Ask of Me.’ They will say: ‘We ask for Your good pleasure, O Lord.’ He will say: ‘It is because I am pleased with you that you are in My Paradise, and you are honoured.’ Then He will say (again): ‘Ask of Me.’ They will say all together: ‘We ask for Your good pleasure.’ He will ask them to testify that He is pleased with them. Then He will say (once more): ‘Ask of Me,’ and they will ask of Him until each one of them is finished. Then He will grant them that which no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and it has not crossed the mind of any human.”
It was also narrated by Ibn Abi’d-Dunya inSifat al-Jannah(88) via another isnaad; he added: “… there is nothing that they are more eager for than Friday; the more they gaze more upon their Lord, the more they will increase in honour.”
Al-Mundhiri (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
It was narrated by Ibn Abi’d-Dunya and by at-Tabaraani inal-Awsatwith two isnaads, one of which is jayyid qawiy. A shorter version was also narrated by Abu Ya‘la; the men of its isnaad are the men ofas-Saheeh. And it was also narrated by al-Bazzaar.
End quote fromat-Targheeb wa’t-Tarheeb, 4/311; classed as hasan by al-Albaani inSaheeh at-Targheeb, 3761
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Ad-Daaraqutni narrated with a saheeh isnaad from Ibn al-Mubaarak: al-Mas‘oodi told us, from al-Minhaal ibn ‘Amr, from Abu ‘Ubaydah, from ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ood, who said: “Hasten to Jumu‘ah, for verily Allah will appear to the people of Paradise every Friday when they gather at a sand hill of camphor, and their closeness to Him will be commensurate with the degree to which they hastened to Jumu‘ah in this world.” Then he listed a number of isnaads for it, then he said:
This that Ibn Mas‘ood told us is something that he could only know from a Prophet or from someone who took it from a Prophet. Thus it is known that Ibn Mas‘ood took it from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), and it is not possible for him to have taken it from the People of the Book, for several reasons:
i. The Sahaabah were forbidden to believe the People of the Book in what they told them. Hence it is impossible for Ibn Mas‘ood (may Allah be pleased with him) to have narrated for the purpose of teaching, or as the basis for a ruling, something that the Jews told him.
ii. Ibn Mas‘ood (may Allah be pleased with him) in particular was one of the strictest of the Sahaabah (may Allah be pleased with them) in denouncing those who took things from the teachings of the People of the Book.
iii. Jumu‘ah (Friday) was enjoined only for us, and coming early to Jumu‘ah is only prescribed in our religion. Hence it is unlikely that such a report could have been taken from the earlier Prophets, and it is unlikely that the Jews would speak of such a virtue to this ummah, when they characteristically concealed knowledge and were miserly with it, and they were envious of this ummah.
End quote fromMajmoo‘ al-Fataawa, 6/403-405
Muslim (2833) narrated from Anas ibn Maalik that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “In Paradise there is a market to which they will come every Friday. Then the north wind will blow and will blow on their faces and garments, and increase them in beauty. Then they will return to their families having increased in beauty and their families will say to them: By Allah, you have increased in beauty, and they will say: By Allah, you too have increased in beauty.”
Shaykh al-Islam [Ibn Taymiyah] said:
It may be that this hadeeth is shorter than other hadeeths. The reason for the increase in beauty is “seeing Allah, may He be exalted”, and all the joy that results from that. Based on that, it may be that the believing women will see Allah in their homes in Paradise in such a way that their beauty increases, if the reason for that is seeing Allah, as is explained in other hadeeths...
... Once that is clear, then we say: In some of the other hadeeths that give more details than this hadeeth it mentions seeing Allah on Fridays, but there is nothing to connect it to Jumu‘ah prayer in this world. In the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah it mentions the Friday marketplace of Paradise, and in some of the hadeeths it says that on Fridays in the hereafter they will sit with Allah, with the degree of closeness to Him commensurate with the degree to which they hastened to Jumu‘ah in this world. There is no mention of seeing Him – as mentioned above in the marfoo‘ hadeeth of Ibn Mas‘ood. And in some reports there is mention of both things [seeing and sitting] together; these are the majority of the hadeeths.
End quote fromMajmoo‘ al-Fataawa, 6/408-409
He also said:
Seeing Allah in the Hereafter in general is connected to the congregational prayers. If it was prescribed for people in this world to gather to remember Allah, converse with Him, and find joy in meeting Him in prayer every Friday, then in the Hereafter they will be allocated a meeting every Friday to converse with Him, see Him and find joy in meeting Him.
If the Sunnah stated that the women should be enjoined to go out on ‘Eid, even those who remained in seclusion and those who were menstruating, and at the time of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) most of the women went out on the Eid, their Eid in the Hereafter will include seeing Him, commensurate with their Eid in this world.
End quote fromMajmoo‘ al-Fataawa, 6/420
Thirdly:
The idea that the people of Paradise will see their Lord, may He be glorified, every Friday does not mean that they will not see Him at other times. The people of Paradise will enjoy various delights, and the greatest bliss is to see the Lord, may He be exalted, in Paradise. Just as they will vary in terms of the physical delights of Paradise, they will also vary in terms of intangible bliss.
But affirming or denying the idea of seeing Him every day depends on a sound report from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) to that effect, and no such report has reached us as far as we know.
Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The believers will see their Lord every Friday; as for every hour or every moment, we have no knowledge concerning that.
End quote fromDuroos Mufraghah li’sh-Shaykh al-Albaani(43/3)
And Allah knows best.

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- PUBLISHERNajimudeeN M. MD, IRI (Managing Director, Islamic Research Institution)