They said: The disbelievers’ seeing Him is neither an honour nor a source of bliss. A “meeting” may be one of honour or one of punishment; the same applies to the seeing that such a meeting entails.

Among the evidence they cited is the authentic hadith transmitted by Sufyān ibn ‘Uyaynah: Suhayl ibn Abī Sālih narrated to us, from his father, from Abū Hurayrah:

“Do you have any difficulty seeing the moon on the night when it is full?”

Muslim, Abū Dāwūd, Ahmad in al-Musnad, and Ibn Khuzaymah in al-Tawhīd and elsewhere reported it. He narrated:

“They asked, ‘O Messenger of Allah, will we see our Lord on the Day of Resurrection?’

He replied, ‘Do you have any difficulty seeing the sun when no cloud obscures it?’

They said, ‘No.’

He said, ‘By the One in whose Hand is my soul, you will have no more difficulty seeing your Lord than you have seeing either of them.’

He said, ‘The servant will then meet Him, and He will say, “O so-and-so, did I not honour you, make you a leader, grant you a wife, place horses and camels at your service, and let you exercise leadership and take a quarter of the spoils?”

He will reply, “Yes, my Lord.”

He will say, “Did you expect to meet Me?”

He will reply, “No.”

He will say, “Then I shall forsake you just as you forsook Me.”’

Then he said, ‘He will meet the second and say the same to him. He will reply, “My Lord, I believed in You, Your Book and Your messengers; I prayed, fasted and gave charity.” He will speak as highly of himself as he can.

He will say, “Stay here, then.”’

He said, ‘Then he will be told, “Now We shall bring forth Our witness against you.” He will wonder to himself, “Who could testify against me?” His mouth will then be sealed, and his thigh will be told, “Speak!” His thigh, flesh and bones will speak of what he used to do. This is the hypocrite: his own self will thus leave him without excuse. He is the one with whom Allah is angry.’”

The hadith continues:

“Then a caller will proclaim, ‘Let every community follow what it used to worship!’ Those devoted to the devils and the cross will follow them into Hell. We believers will remain, and our Lord will come to us and say, ‘Who are these?’

We will reply, ‘We are among Allah’s believing servants. We believed in our Lord and associated nothing with Him. He is our Lord, blessed and exalted is He, and He