the Companions, nor is there anything in the Quran and Sunnah that indicates this. Rather, the authentic texts point more clearly to its denial, as reported in Sahīh Muslim from Abū Dharr:
“I asked Allah’s Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), ‘Did you see your Lord?’ He replied, ‘Light—how could I see Him?’”
Allah Most High has said:
“Glory be to Him who took His servant by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque, whose surroundings We have blessed, to show him some of Our signs.”
Had He shown Himself to him, to be seen with his physical eyes, mentioning that would have been more fitting. Likewise, He says:
“Will you then dispute with him about what he sees?”
“He certainly saw some of the greatest signs of his Lord.”
Had he seen Him with his physical eyes, mentioning that would have been more fitting.
In the two Sahīhs, Ibn ‘Abbās is reported to have said concerning His words:
“We made the vision which We showed you only a trial for the people, as well as the accursed tree in the Quran.”
“It was a vision seen with the eyes, which Allah’s Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was shown on the night he was taken on the Night Journey.”
This was a “vision of the signs,” for he told the people what he had seen with his physical eyes on the night of the Ascension. That became a trial for them: some believed him, while others disbelieved him. He did not tell them that he had seen his Lord with his physical eyes. Nor is there any mention of that in any of the authentic hadiths concerning the Ascension. Had it occurred, he would have mentioned it, just as he mentioned things of lesser significance.
The authentic texts and the agreement of the early generations of the Muslim community establish that no one sees Allah with his physical eyes in this world, apart from the disagreement some of them had concerning our Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) alone. They agreed that the believers will see Allah directly on the Day of Resurrection, just as they see the sun and the moon.