and Moses be spoken to, and Muhammad be granted the vision—may Allah bless them all and grant them peace?”

He mentioned the hadith narrated by al-Hakam from ‘Ikrimah which speaks of the form of a young man. He also mentioned how some of his companions cited as evidence what was narrated from Abū Dharr and Ibn ‘Abbās concerning the interpretation of His words in Sūrat al-Najm, and how some cited Ibn ‘Abbās’s statement concerning His words:

“And We did not make the vision We showed you except as a trial for the people.” [al-Isrā’ 60]

He explained that it was a vision seen with the eyes, shown to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

Then he said: “Nor does the report clearly establish that, by ‘a vision seen with the eyes,’ Ibn ‘Abbās meant that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saw his Lord with his own eyes. I do not consider it lawful for me to argue