ibn ‘Abd Allāh al-Tustarī say: “The believers will look upon Him [Exalted is He] with their eyes, without encompassing Him or apprehending an end.”

These are among the finest words. Sahl ibn ‘Abd Allāh’s statements concerning the Sunnah and the foundations of belief are sounder and more correct than those of others, as are those of al-Fudayl ibn ‘Iyād and others like him. Those shaykhs who were more knowledgeable about hadith and the Sunnah, and followed them more closely, possessed greater knowledge and faith and held a higher standing in these matters than others.

Sahl’s words, “or apprehending an end,” convey two things. First, they deny the encompassing perception that Allah has denied of Himself, thereby reconciling what the Book and the Sunnah affirm with what they negate. Second, he denied apprehending an end; he did not deny the existence of an end itself. On its face, this differs from Abū al-Qāsim’s statement: “There is no limit to His essence.”

Abū al-Qāsim then said: “Abū al-Husayn al-Nūrī said: ‘The True One surveyed the hearts and found none more longing for Him than the heart of Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. He therefore honoured him with the Ascension, hastening his vision of Him and His speaking to him.’”

His purpose in relating this account is to affirm that Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saw his Lord on the night of the Ascension. This is the view of most of Ahl al-Sunnah [that he saw his Lord with his heart].