Friday 6 May 2011

Will the believers see their Lord in Paradise

Will the believers see their Lord in Paradise?
Is it proven that the believers will see their Lord in the Hereafter?

 

Praise be to Allaah.
 

 

The blessings which
Allaah bestows upon His slaves cannot be counted. Allaah has singled out the
believers for additional blessings in this world, as He has blessed them
with Islam, and chosen them to be guided by the Qur’aan, and He will bless
them exclusively in Paradise with the greatest blessing that He can bestow,
which is the honour of looking upon His holy Face in the Paradise of ‘Adan,
as He says (interpretation of the meaning): 

“Some faces that Day shall be Naadirah (shining and
radiant).

Looking at their Lord (Allaah)”

[al-Qiyaamah :22-23] 

i.e., the faces of the believers will be beautiful and
radiant, joyful because they are looking at the Face of their Lord. Al-Hasan
(may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “They will look at their Lord and their
faces will become radiant with His Light.” 

It was narrated that Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with
him) said: “[The phrase] ‘Some faces that Day shall be Naadirah (shining
and radiant)’ means, because of the blessing. ‘Looking at their Lord’
means, looking upon the Face of their Lord.”  This is the opinion of the
mufassireen among the scholars of the Sunnah and hadeeth. 

Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):  

“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] 

What is meant by “more” here is looking upon the Face of
Allaah, may He be glorified and exalted, as that was interpreted by ‘Ali and
Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with them). 

Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): 

“For those who have done good is the best reward and even
more (i.e. having the honour of glancing at the Countenance of Allaah)”

[Yoonus 10:26] 

The “best reward” is Paradise, and “even more” is looking
upon the Face of Allaah, as that was explained by the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), as was narrated by Muslim
in his Saheeh (266) from Suhayb, according to whom the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: 

“When the people of Paradise enter Paradise, Allaah will say,
‘Do you want anything more?’ They will say, ‘Have You not brightened our
faces, admitted us to Paradise and saved us from Hell?’ Then the veil will
be lifted and they will not have seen anything more dear to them than
looking upon their Lord, may He be glorified and exalted. This is what
is meant by ‘even more.’” Then he recited the verse (interpretation of the
meaning): 

“For those who have done good is the best reward and even
more (i.e. having the honour of glancing at the Countenance of Allaah)”

[Yoonus 10:26] 

So once you know that the people of Paradise will not be
given anything there that is more dear to them than looking upon the Face of
their Lord, it will become clear to you just how great is the deprivation
and loss that awaits the sinners whom Allaah warns with the words
(interpretation of the meaning): 

“Nay! Surely, they (evil doers) will be veiled from seeing
their Lord that Day” [al-Mutafiffoon 83:15] 

We ask Allaah to keep us safe and sound 

How beautiful are the words of al-Shaafa’i, which were
narrated from him by al-Rabee’ ibn Sulaymaan – who was one of his students –
who said: “I was with Muhammad ibn Idrees [i.e., al-Shaafa’i], who had
received a letter from Upper Egypt in which it said, ‘What do you say about
the aayah,  

“Nay! Surely, they (evil doers) will be veiled from seeing
their Lord that Day”

[al-Mutafiffoon 83:15]?’Al-Shaafa’i said: ‘Because
they will be veiled by the wrath (of Allaah), this indicates that the
friends of Allaah will see Him beceause He is pleased with them.’” 

This is some of the evidence from the Qur’aan which proves
that the believers will see their Lord in Paradise. 

With regard to the evidence in the Sunnah, there is a great
deal of it. For example: 

1 – Al-Bukhaari (6088) and Muslim (267) narrated from Abu
Hurayrah that some people said: “O Messenger of Allaah, will we see our Lord
on the Day of Resurrection?” The Messenger of Allaah said, “Do you doubt
that you see the moon on the night when it is full?” They said, “No, O
Messenger of Allaah.” He said, ‘Do you doubt that you see the sun when there
is no cloud?” They said, “No, O Messenger of Allaah.” He said, “You will see
Him likewise…” 

According to a report narrated by al-Bukhaari:  “you will not
have any doubts or disputes concerning seeing Him,” and seeing Him will not
cause you any hardship or make you tired. And Allaah knows best. Summarized
from Sharh Muslim. 

2 – Also in al-Saheehayn (al-Bukhaari, 6883; Muslim,
1002), it is narrated that Jareer ibn ‘Abd-Allaah said: “We were sitting
with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), looking
at the moon on the night of the fourteenth (of the month). He said, ‘You
will see your Lord with your own eyes just as you are looking at this
(moon), without any doubt that you are seeing Him.’” 

The comparison in this hadeeth is between seeing and seeing,
i.e., just as we see the sun in all clarity on a cloudless day, and no one
prevents anyone else from seeing it despite the large numbers of people
looking at it, and just as we see the moon completely on the night when it
is full, and we see it so clearly, despite the large numbers of people who
are looking at it, so too the believers will see their Lord on the Day of
Resurrection, so fully and clearly. But there is no comparison in the
ahaadeeth between what is seen in one case and the other, may Allaah be
exalted far above such a thing, for there is nothing like unto Allaah, and
He is the All-Hearing, All-Seeing. 

3 – al-Bukhaari (4500) and Muslim (6890) narrated from Abu
Moosa that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said: “Two gardens of silver, their vessels and everything in them, and two
gardens of gold, their vessels and everything in them. And there will be
nothing between the people and their seeing their Lord, may He be blessed
and exalted, except the veil of pride concealing His Face in the Paradise of
‘Adan.” 

The ahaadeeth about seeing Allaah were narrated by nearly
thirty Sahaabah. Whoever learns them will have certain knowledge that the
Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said them. So
whoever claims after this that no one will see Allaah in the Hereafter is
rejecting the Qur’aan and the message with which Allaah sent His Messengers,
and he is exposing himself to the stern warning mentioned in the aayah
(interpretation of the meaning): 

“Nay! Surely, they (evil doers) will be veiled from seeing
their Lord that Day” [al-Mutafiffoon 83:15] 

We ask Allaah to keep us safe and sound, and we ask Him to
bestow upon us the joy of looking upon His holy Face…. Ameen. 

See Sharh al-‘Aqeedah al-Tahhaawiyyah, 1/209 ff;
A’laam al-Sunnah al-Manshoorah by Shaykh Haafiz al-Hukami, p. 141.

Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid

No comments:

Post a Comment