Azami 440

Tirmidhi narrated it (3281) and Ibn Khuzayma in Tawhid (394), both through the route of Abdul-Razzaq, from Israil, from Simak bin Harb, from Ikrima, from Ibn Abbas, who mentioned it. Tirmidhi said, "Hasan." Lalikai also recorded it (910, 911) through various routes from Simak with his chain of transmission, in similar wording. Its chain is hasan because of Simak bin Harb.It has also been narrated from him as an elevated report, "I saw my Lord ," which is an abridgment of the hadith of the vision, as will come later. It has already been said regarding it that he saw his Lord with his heart twice. When these narrations from Ibn Abbas are gathered together, it becomes clear that they are all stopped reports. It cannot be said that they carry the status of an elevated report, since there is no room for personal reasoning here, because he derived it from the Quranic verses, and had there been anything elevated to the Prophet ﷺ in it, he would have mentioned it in the context of question and answer. This is because the opposite has been established as sahih, namely Ayesha's statement, "I was the first of this nation to ask the Messenger of Allah ﷺ about that," to which he replied, "It was only Jibreel, I never saw him in the form in which he was created except on these two occasions, I saw him descending from the sky, his massive form filling the space between the sky and the earth." Muslim narrated it, as mentioned before.These narrations from Ibn Abbas are, some of them unrestricted, and some restricted to the heart. The scholars therefore interpreted the unrestricted ones in light of the restricted ones, and reconciled between those who denied that the Prophet ﷺ saw his Lord, such as Ayesha and others, and those who affirmed it, such as Ibn Abbas, by interpreting the denial as referring to seeing with the eye, and the affirmation as referring to seeing with the heart. This is the position taken by Sheikh Islam bin Taymiya and his student Hafiz bin Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on them both.Here is what Sheikh Islam said in his Fatawa, "As for the vision, what is established as sahih from Ibn Abbas is that he said, 'Muhammad saw his Lord with his heart twice,' while Ayesha denied the vision. Some people reconciled between the two by saying that Ayesha denied the vision of the eye, while Ibn Abbas affirmed the vision of the heart. The wordings established from Ibn Abbas are either unrestricted or restricted to the heart, sometimes he says, 'Muhammad saw his Lord,' and sometimes he says, 'He saw Him,' but no explicit wording has been established from Ibn Abbas stating that he saw Him with his own eye. Likewise Imam Ahmad, sometimes states the vision without qualification, and sometimes says, 'He saw Him with his heart,' and no one has said that Ahmad stated that he saw Him with his eye, but a group of his companions heard some of his unrestricted statements and understood from them a vision of the eye, just as some people heard the unrestricted statement of Ibn Abbas and understood from it a vision of the eye. There is nothing in the evidence that requires that he saw Him with his eye, nor has that been established from any of the companions, nor is there anything in the Book or the sunnah indicating that, rather the sahih texts point more strongly to its negation, as in Sahih Muslim from Abu Dharr, who said, 'I asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, "Did you see your Lord?" He said, "Light, how could I see Him."' Allah the Exalted has said, "Glory be to Him who took His servant on a journey by night from Masjid al-Haram to Masjid Aqsa, whose surroundings We have blessed, so that We might show him some of Our signs" [Isra 17:1], and had He shown him Himself with his own eye, mentioning that would have been more fitting. Likewise His saying, "Will you then dispute with him about what he saw?" [Najm 53:12], "He certainly saw some of the greatest signs of his Lord" [Najm 53:18], and had he seen Him with his eye, mentioning that would have been more fitting. In the Sahihayn, from Ibn Abbas, regarding His saying, "And We did not make the vision which We showed you except as a trial for the people, and the cursed tree in the Quran" [Isra 17:60], he said, it is a vision of the eye, which the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was shown on the night he was taken on the night journey, and this is 'the vision of the signs,' because he informed the people of what he saw with his own eye on the night of the ascension, and that was a trial for them, some people believed him and some disbelieved him, and he did not tell them that he saw his Lord with his eye, and none of the established hadiths about the ascension mention that, and had that occurred, he would have mentioned it just as he mentioned lesser matters. It has been established by the sahih texts and the consensus of the predecessors of this nation, that no one sees Allah in this world with his eye, except for what some have disputed regarding the vision of our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ specifically, and they agreed that the believers will see Allah on the Day of Resurrection with their own eyes, just as they see the sun and the moon." Majmu Fatawa (6/509–510).As for Hafiz bin Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, he said, "The companions differed as to whether he saw his Lord that night or not. It has been established as sahih from Ibn Abbas that he saw his Lord, and it has been established as sahih from him that he said, 'He saw Him with his heart,' and it has been established as sahih from Ayesha and Ibn Masud that they denied that, saying that His statement, "And he certainly saw him in another descent, at Sidrat Muntaha" [Najm 53:13–14] refers only to Jibreel. And it has been established as sahih from Abu Dharr that he asked him, 'Did you see your Lord?' and he said, 'Light, how could I see Him,' meaning that light stood between me and seeing Him, as he said in another wording, 'I saw a light.' Uthman bin Saeed Darimi related the consensus of the companions that he did not see Him. Sheikh Islam bin Taymiya, may Allah have mercy on him, said, 'The statement of Ibn Abbas, "He saw Him," does not contradict this, nor does his statement, "He saw Him with his heart," for it has been established as sahih from him that he said, "I saw my Lord ," but this was not during the night journey, rather it was in Madinah when he was delayed from leading them in the dawn prayer, after which he informed them that he had seen his Lord that night in his dream. Imam Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him, built upon this and said, "Yes, he saw Him truly," for the visions of the prophets are true, without doubt, but Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him, did not say that he saw Him with the eyes of his head while awake, and whoever related that from him has erred regarding him. Rather he said once, "He saw Him," and once said, "He saw Him with his heart." So two narrations have been related from him, and a third has been related from him by some of his companions, "He saw Him with the eyes of his head." But these existing texts of Ahmad's contain nothing of that. As for Ibn Abbas's statement, "He saw Him with his heart twice," if its basis was His statement, "The heart did not lie about what it saw" [Najm 53:11], then He said, "And he certainly saw him in another descent" [Najm 53:13], and it appears that this was indeed his basis, then it has been established as sahih from him ﷺ that this seen one was Jibreel, whom he saw twice in the form in which he was created, and this statement of Ibn Abbas is the basis for Imam Ahmad's statement, "He saw Him with his heart." And Allah knows best. As for His statement in Surah Najm, "Then he drew near and descended" [Najm 53:8], this is different from the drawing near and descending in the story of the night journey, for what is in Surah Najm is the drawing near and descending of Jibreel, as Ayesha and Ibn Masud said, and the context indicates this, for He said, "Taught him by one intense in strength" [Najm 53:5], meaning Jibreel, "Possessed of soundness, so he settled, while he was at the highest horizon" [Najm 53:6–8]. So all the pronouns refer back to this one intense in strength, who possesses soundness, meaning strength, and who settled at the highest horizon, and who drew near and descended, coming within two bow-lengths or nearer to Muhammad ﷺ. As for the drawing near and descending mentioned in the hadith of the night journey, that is explicit in referring to the drawing near and descending of the Lord , and there is no mention of that in Surah Najm, rather it states that he saw him in another descent at Sidrat Muntaha, and this was Jibreel, whom Muhammad ﷺ saw in his true form twice, once on earth, and once at Sidrat Muntaha. And Allah knows best.'"See Zad Mad (36/3–38).I say, the drawing near and descending of the Lord mentioned in the hadith of the night journey has already been discussed, noting that this is something in which Sharik bin Abdullah bin Abu Nimr erred. And Allah knows best.