by misrepresentation, nor do I consider it permissible to mislead seekers of knowledge. As for the reports transmitted by Qatādah and al-Hakam ibn Abān from ‘Ikrimah, from Ibn ‘Abbās, and the report transmitted by ‘Abd Allāh ibn Abī Salamah from Ibn ‘Abbās, it is perfectly clear that Ibn ‘Abbās, may Allah be pleased with them both, affirmed that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saw his Lord.”

This statement of his implies that he relied on these chains of transmission and that they indicate a vision of Allah with the eyes, to which the words of the Most High are understood to refer:

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

This is supported by the hadith transmitted by Hammād ibn Salamah from Qatādah, from ‘Ikrimah, from Ibn ‘Abbās, traced back to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, who said: “I saw my Lord.” The hadith transmitted by al-Hakam from ‘Ikrimah likewise has the status of a report traced back to the Prophet, because the account of the vision it gives could not be known through personal reasoning or interpretation of the Quran. Similarly, the hadith transmitted by Ibn Abī Salamah from Ibn ‘Abbās reports matters that cannot be known from interpreting the Quran.

On this basis, the report transmitted by ‘Ikrimah from Ibn ‘Abbās and similar reports would refer to a vision with the eyes, as various groups among the scholars of hadith maintain. Nevertheless, a report has also been transmitted from ‘Ikrimah through this very same chain of transmission which makes clear that