Majmu' al-Fatawa - Ibn Taimiya - (6/473)

Majmu' al-FatawaIbn Taimiya

in them. You are the Truth, Your word is the truth, meeting You is a reality, Paradise is a reality, Hell is a reality, the prophets are true, and Muhammad is true.

O Allah, to You I have submitted, in You I have believed, upon You I have relied, to You I have turned, to You I have referred my disputes for judgment, and through You I have argued my case. O Allah, forgive me my past and future sins, what I have concealed and what I have done openly, and what You know better than I. You are my God; there is no god but You.”

In another wording:

“I seek refuge in You from Your leading me astray. You are the Ever-Living who never dies, whereas jinn and humans die.”

The hadith thus distinguishes between meeting Him and Paradise and Hell. Paradise and Hell encompass the recompense of the obedient and the disobedient. It is therefore clear that meeting Him does not mean encountering Paradise and Hell.

Fifth: The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, explained in several hadiths what it means for a servant to meet his Lord. For example, al-Bukhārī and Muslim report from ʿAdī ibn Hātim that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“There is not one of you but Allah will speak to him, with neither a doorkeeper nor an interpreter between him and Allah. He will look to his right and see only what he has sent ahead, and he will look to his left and see only what he has sent ahead. The Fire will confront him. Whoever can protect himself from the Fire, even with half a date, should do so. If he cannot, then with a kind word.”

There are other similar hadiths.

Sixth: If “meeting Allah” meant encountering some created things—whether as recompense or otherwise—then this would occur both in this world and in the Hereafter, and the servant would constantly be meeting his Lord. Since Muslims know as a necessary truth of Islam that meeting Allah occurs only after death, it is clear that interpreting this “meeting” as encountering some created things is false. It is well known that Allah has recompensed some of His creatures for

فِيهِنَّ أَنْتَ الْحَقُّ وَقَوْلُك الْحَقُّ وَلِقَاؤُك حَقٌّ وَالْجَنَّةُ حَقٌّ وَالنَّارُ حَقٌّ وَالنَّبِيُّونَ حَقٌّ وَمُحَمَّدٌ حَقٌّ؛ اللَّهُمَّ لَك أَسْلَمْت وَبِك آمَنْت وَعَلَيْك تَوَكَّلْت وَإِلَيْك أَنَبْت وَإِلَيْك حَاكَمْت وَبِك خَاصَمْت اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِي مَا قَدَّمْت وَمَا أَخَّرْت وَمَا أَسْرَرْت وَمَا أَعْلَنْت وَمَا أَنْتَ أَعْلَمُ بِهِ مِنِّي أَنْتَ إلَهِي لَا إلَهَ إلَّا أَنْتَ} وَفِي لَفْظٍ: {أَعُوذُ بِك أَنْ تُضِلَّنِي؛ أَنْتَ الْحَيُّ الَّذِي لَا تَمُوتُ وَالْجِنُّ وَالْإِنْسُ يَمُوتُونَ} . فَفِي الْحَدِيثِ فَرْقٌ بَيْنَ لِقَائِهِ وَبَيْنَ الْجَنَّةِ وَالنَّارِ. وَالْجَنَّةُ وَالنَّارُ تَتَضَمَّنُ جَزَاءَ الْمُطِيعِينَ وَالْعُصَاةِ فَعُلِمَ أَنَّ لِقَاءَهُ لَيْسَ هُوَ لِقَاءَ الْجَنَّةِ وَالنَّارِ. الْخَامِسُ: أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ذَكَرَ فِي غَيْرِ حَدِيثٍ مَا يُبَيِّنُ لِقَاءَ الْعَبْدِ رَبَّهُ كَمَا فِي الصَّحِيحَيْنِ عَنْ عَدِيِّ بْنِ حَاتِمٍ عَنْ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنَّهُ قَالَ: {مَا مِنْكُمْ مِنْ أَحَدٍ إلَّا سَيُكَلِّمُهُ اللَّهُ لَيْسَ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَهُ حَاجِبٌ وَلَا تُرْجُمَانٌ؛ فَيَنْظُرُ أَيْمَنَ مِنْهُ فَلَا يَرَى إلَّا شَيْئًا قَدَّمَهُ وَيَنْظُرُ أَشْأَمَ مِنْهُ فَلَا يَرَى إلَّا شَيْئًا قَدَّمَهُ فَتَسْتَقْبِلُهُ النَّارُ؛ فَمَنْ اسْتَطَاعَ أَنْ يَتَّقِيَ النَّارَ وَلَوْ بِشِقِّ تَمْرَةٍ فَلْيَفْعَلْ فَإِنْ لَمْ يَسْتَطِعْ فَبِكَلِمَةِ طَيِّبَةٍ} إلَى أَمْثَالِ ذَلِكَ مِنْ الْأَحَادِيثِ. السَّادِسُ: أَنَّهُ لَوْ أُرِيدَ " بِلِقَاءِ اللَّهِ " بَعْضُ الْمَخْلُوقَاتِ - إمَّا جَزَاءً وَإِمَّا غَيْرَ جَزَاءٍ - لَكَانَ ذَلِكَ وَاقِعًا فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ فَكَانَ الْعَبْدُ لَا يَزَالُ مُلَاقِيًا لِرَبِّهِ وَلَمَّا عَلِمَ الْمُسْلِمُونَ بِالِاضْطِرَارِ مِنْ دِينِ الْإِسْلَامِ أَنَّ لِقَاءَ اللَّهِ لَا يَكُونُ إلَّا بَعْدَ الْمَوْتِ: عُلِمَ بُطْلَانُ أَنَّ " اللِّقَاءَ " لِقَاءُ بَعْضِ الْمَخْلُوقَاتِ. وَمَعْلُومٌ أَنَّ اللَّهَ قَدْ جَازَى خَلْقًا عَلَى