in Medina. The wording of ‘Ikrimah’s hadith from Ibn ‘Abbās thus resembles that of Umm al-Tufayl’s hadith. This is supported by the fact that the mass-transmitted reports from Ibn ‘Abbās state only that the Prophet saw Him with his heart, and that Ibn ‘Abbās said this when explaining the Quran. Had he possessed a report from the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—describing, in the Prophet’s own words, a vision on the night of the Ascension, we would not have needed to resort to that. This report would have been relied upon, rather than his interpretation of the Quran.

For this reason, Imam Ahmad—may Allah have mercy on him—affirmed only what is established from Ibn ‘Abbās concerning the Prophet’s seeing Him with his heart, together with the transmission of these hadiths in the form in which they were received. This refutes an unqualified denial of the vision, but does not refute a denial of seeing Him with the eyes, as the two have been reconciled.

It may be said that ‘Ikrimah’s hadith from Ibn ‘Abbās gives Ibn ‘Abbās’s explanation of the vision with the heart that occurred in Mecca. Yet these additional details in ‘Ikrimah’s hadith cannot be derived merely by interpreting the Quran; rather, they require authoritative transmission. The same applies to the additional detail in the report of Ibn ‘Umar’s question to Ibn ‘Abbās.