I say: There is no doubt that some of the early generations and imams held that meeting Allah includes seeing Him, and cited the verses concerning meeting Allah, Mighty and Majestic, as evidence that He will be seen. Others disputed whether meeting entails seeing. We have discussed this elsewhere and also explained how the Prophetic hadiths support this.

However, those who held that meeting entails seeing did not deny the meaning of meeting while affirming seeing, as some later followers of al-Ash‘arī do, such as al-Mu’assis and others. In their view, this is impossible, its impossibility being self-evident to reason, and all other rational people agree with them on this. Affirming seeing without direct visual observation and a face-to-face encounter also contradicts the reports transmitted through numerous independent channels from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him.

Moreover, the word “meeting” explicitly denotes coming face to face and drawing near. It is merely said that meeting includes seeing or necessarily entails it; seeing is thus either part of what the term denotes or a necessary consequence of it. How, then, can one affirm this while denying what the word denotes more clearly and what is more evident in its meaning?