community, who agree that the believers will see Allah in the Hereafter and that the disbelievers will not see Him. This establishes the consensus of the community—both those who affirm the possibility of seeing Him and those who deny it—that disbelievers will not see Allah. Any view introduced after a consensus has been established is false and must be rejected.”
He and others also said:
“The reports concerning the believers’ seeing Allah convey glad tidings. If the disbelievers shared this with them, those glad tidings would lose their meaning. Those who affirm that Allah will be seen do not disagree that seeing Him is among the greatest honors granted to the people of Paradise.”
He said:
“The claim that He shows Himself to them only to punish them and make them lament being deprived of seeing Him continually, and that He then withholds this from them—after they have come to know the honor and joy it brings—would entail that He admit the disbelievers into Paradise, show them its fair maidens and youthful attendants, feed them its fruits, and give them its drinks, then withhold all this from them. This would acquaint them with the value of what they have been denied and increase their grief and longing at being deprived of it after learning of its excellence.
“The principal proof is His saying, glorified is He:
‘No! Indeed, they will be veiled from their Lord that Day.’
“This encompasses their being veiled from their Lord throughout that entire Day. That Day is:
‘The Day when mankind will stand before the Lord of the worlds.’
“It is the Day of Resurrection. If it were said that He veils them at some times but not others, this would restrict the scope of the wording without justification and place them on an equal footing with the believers, for the believers will not see Him continuously. Yet the passage explains their punishment and recompense through being veiled from Him. The believers therefore cannot share with them in this punishment or any other retribution. Thus, it is established that the disbeliever is veiled without qualification, unlike the believer. And if they are in the gathering place