all vision’ [al-An‘ām 103]?” He replied, “May you be bereft of your mother!”—that was the expression he used with me—“That is His light, His very light. When He manifests Himself in His light, nothing can encompass Him.”

This explanation from Ibn ‘Abbās implies that he saw Him with inner sight, for He is seen only when He does not manifest Himself in His light, His very light. This is explained elsewhere. Accordingly, he said that this explains the hadith of Abū Dharr, and that there are two views concerning what it negates, just as there are concerning what is negated in this statement of Ibn ‘Abbās. Likewise, concerning the Most High’s words, “No vision can encompass Him,” it has been said that you see the sky without encompassing it. Thus it was said, “If you gaze intently at it, your sight grows dim.”

Ahmad’s objection was specifically to those who categorically rejected the hadiths concerning seeing Him in this world. For some groups among the Jahmiyyah maintain that Allah cannot be seen at all, whether with the eyes or with the heart, while other groups maintain that He cannot be seen in dreams either. These people reject every report affirming that