The shaykh—may Allah have mercy on him—said:

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As for “seeing Him,” it is authentically reported from Ibn ‘Abbās that he said, “Muhammad saw his Lord with his heart twice.” ‘Ā’ishah, however, denied that he saw Him. Some reconciled their statements by saying that ‘Ā’ishah denied seeing Him with the physical eyes, while Ibn ‘Abbās affirmed seeing Him with the heart.

The wordings authentically reported from Ibn ‘Abbās either leave the manner of seeing unspecified or specify that it was with the heart. Sometimes he says, “Muhammad saw his Lord,” and sometimes, “Muhammad saw Him.” No explicit statement that he saw Him with his physical eyes has been authentically reported from Ibn ‘Abbās.

Likewise, Imām Ahmad sometimes leaves the manner of seeing unspecified, and sometimes says, “He saw Him with his heart.” No one has said that he heard Ahmad say, “He saw Him with his physical eyes.” However, some of his followers heard certain statements of his that left the manner of seeing unspecified and understood them to mean seeing with the physical eyes, just as some people heard Ibn ‘Abbās’s unqualified statements and understood them in that sense.

There is nothing in the evidence that entails that he saw Him with his physical eyes, nor has this been established from any of