contradicts this text.

The fourth point is that the hadith of Ibn Mas‘ūd and Abū Hurayrah, transmitted through al-‘Alā’, states that each people will be shown a representation of what they used to worship. Another wording has: “likenesses of what they used to worship.” It then states: “Muhammad and his nation will remain. The Lord, blessed and exalted be He, will appear to them and come to them, saying, ‘Why do you not depart as the people have departed?’ They will reply, ‘We have a God whom we have not yet seen.’” Thus, he explicitly states that Allah Most High is Himself the One who appears to them. He did not say, “A representation was shown to them,” as he said concerning the objects of worship of the polytheists and the People of the Book.

The fifth point is that several hadiths, including those of Abū Sa‘īd and Ibn Mas‘ūd, state: “He will ask, ‘Is there a sign by which you recognize Him?’ They will reply, ‘Yes.’ Then He will uncover His Shin, and they will prostrate to Him.” This shows that they did not recognize Him through the description given to them in this world, but through a sign and identifying mark that they came to know at the gathering. Likewise, in the hadith of