As for those who deny that they will see Him at all, taking what is transmitted from the early authorities at its apparent meaning, they follow the apparent sense of His words:
“No! Indeed, they will be veiled from their Lord that Day.”
Ibn Battah narrated through his chain of transmission from Ashhab, who said: A man asked Mālik, “Abū ‘Abd Allāh, will the believers see their Lord on the Day of Resurrection?”
Mālik replied, “If the believers were not to see their Lord on the Day of Resurrection, Allah would not have reproached the disbelievers with being veiled from Him. He, Most High, says: ‘No! Indeed, they will be veiled from their Lord that Day.’”
Al-Muzanī reported: I heard Ibn Abī Haram say: Al-Shāfi‘ī said, “In the Book of Allah, the words ‘No! Indeed, they will be veiled from their Lord that Day’ indicate that His allies will see Him as He is.”
Hanbal ibn Ishāq reported: I heard Abū ‘Abd Allāh—meaning Ahmad ibn Hanbal—say:
“I knew people who denied none of these hadiths—the hadiths concerning the vision. They would transmit them collectively, passing them on as they stood, neither denying them nor entertaining doubts about them.”
Abū ‘Abd Allāh said:
“‘No! Indeed, they will be veiled from their Lord that Day.’ Veiling can only be from seeing. Thus Allah has declared that whomever He wills and chooses will see Him, whereas the disbelievers will not see Him.”
He also said:
“Allah says: ‘Faces that Day will be radiant, looking at their Lord.’ The hadiths narrated concerning looking upon Allah—the hadith of Jarīr ibn ‘Abd Allāh and others, ‘You will look upon your Lord’—are authentic hadiths. He also says: ‘For those who do good is the best reward and more.’ The additional reward is looking upon Allah.”
Abū ‘Abd Allāh said:
“As for the hadiths concerning the vision, we believe in them and know that they are true. We believe that we will see our Lord on the Day of Resurrection, without doubt or misgiving.”
He said: “I also heard Abū ‘Abd Allāh say, ‘Whoever claims that Allah will not be seen in the Hereafter has indeed