His words,

‘Then he drew near and descended,’ (8)

through to His words,

‘Then He revealed to His servant what He revealed.’ (10) [al-Najm 8-10]

as meaning that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, drew near to his Creator, coming within two bow-lengths or nearer; that Allah revealed to the Prophet what He revealed; and that the Prophet’s heart did not deny what he saw—meaning his seeing his Creator, majestic and exalted is He.”

Abū Bakr said:

“This interpretation they have given of the verse is not clear and is open to question. For Allah, Most High, only states in this verse that he saw some of the greatest signs of his Lord. Allah does not state in this verse that he saw his Lord, mighty and majestic is He. The signs of our Lord are not our Lord.”

He said:

“Others among our colleagues cited Ibn ʿAbbās’s report as evidence for this vision. Concerning His words,

‘And We made the vision We showed you only as a trial for the people.’ [al-Isrā’ 60]

he said, ‘It was a vision with the eyes, shown to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, on the night he was taken on the Night Journey.’”