Chapter On The Invalidity of the Belief to see God (Ru’yah of Allah)

abu Qurrah (Musa ibn Tariq al-Yamani al-Zabudi, d. 203/818), a narrator of Hadith, asked me to take him to abul Hassan al-Rida (a.s.). I sought permission from the Imam (a.s.) and an audience was granted. He asked the Imam about what is lawful and unlawful and the rules in Islamic laws. His questions came to Oneness of Allah (God). Abu Qurrah said, “We (the narrators of Hadith) narrate that Allah, the Almighty has divided His being seen al-Ru’yah and His al-kalam, speech between the two prophets. He gave Musa (Moses) the opportunity to hear His speech, and Muhammad (s.a.) the opportunity to see Him.” Imam abu al-Hassan (a.s.) said, “Who conveyed the message from Allah to the two heavy communities; mankind and the Jinn that says: ‘The eyes can not comprehend Him.’ (6:103) “They can not limit Him through their knowledge.” (20:110) ‘There is nothing similar to Him.’ (42:11) “Was it not Muhammad (s.a.)?’” Asked the Imam (a.s.). Abu Qurrah then replied, “Yes, He was Prophet Muhammad (s.a.). “ The Imam said, “How can a person who brought such messages to all creatures and told them that he has brought such messages from Allah and called them to Allah by His commands and said, “The eyes can not comprehend Him.” (6:103) “They can not limit Him through their knowledge.” (20:110) “There is nothing similar to Him.” (42:11), then he would say, “I saw Him with my own eyes? I did limit Him in my knowledge and that He is similar to a man? Should you not be ashamed of yourselves? Even the atheist have not said that the Prophet first brought one thing from Allah and then announced from Him other things contrary to the first.” Abu Qurrah then said, “Does Allah Himself not say, ‘And indeed he (the Prophet) saw him in another descent.?” (53: 13) Imam abu al-Hassan (a.s.) said, “The other verses point out what the Prophet actually saw. Allah has said, “His heart did not lie about what he saw” (53: 11) It means that the heart of Muhammad did not belie what his eyes saw. Therefore, Allah in the subsequent verse has said, “Indeed he saw of the greatest signs of his Lord.” (53:18) The signs of Allah are different from Allah Himself. Allah has also said, “They can not limit Him in their knowledge.” (20:110) If the eyes could see Him, then people might limit Him in their knowledge and He could be fully defined.” Abu Qurrah asked, “Do you disregard Hadith?” Imam abu al-Hassan (a.s.) replied, “If Ahadith are contrary to Quran, I disregard them. Besides, all Muslims believe that Allah cannot be limited by knowledge, that eyes can not see Him and that nothing is similar to Him.”

“I wrote to abu al-Hassan al-Rida (a.s.) and asked him about the belief in eye-witnessing Allah’s self. Is it is possible to see Allah’s self with one’s own eyes as is traditionally narrated in the affirmative by the Sunni Muslims (al-’ammah) and the Shi‘ah Muslims (al-khassah) who are contrary. I requested him to explain the matter. The Imam answered in his own handwriting. “All agree and there is no dissension among the people that eye-witnessed knowledge of things is certainly knowledge without doubt. It is the form of knowledge that does not require logical proofs. If it is true that seeing Allah’s self with the eyes is possible then it becomes a necessity to acknowledge that Allah becomes entirely known and defined through eye-witnessed process. Now, can eye-witnessed knowledge of Allah’s self be considered faith or not? If the knowledge of Him as such, i.e. eye-witnessed knowledge (which according to Sunni Muslims will happen on the Day of resurrection) be considered faith, then faith in Allah in this world, which comes through non-eye-witnessed knowledge is not faith. It is contrary to eye-witnessed knowledge and faith (contrary things do not exist at the same time). Thus, there would be no one who would have faith in Allah in this world because no one has seen Him, Majestic is Whose name. If the eye-witnessed knowledge and understanding would not be considered faith then the non-eye-witnessed faith and knowledge formed and acquired must go away in the next life, but, in fact, it will not go away on the Day of resurrection. This is proof that Allah, the Majestic, the Glorious, can not be seen because it will lead to (the kind of confusion) what we just mentioned.”

I was present with Abu Ja’far al-Baqir (as) when a man from the Khawarij entered upon him and said: “O Abu Ja’far, what do you worship?” He said: “Allah, the Exalted.” The man asked: “Have you seen Him?” He replied: “No, but the eyes do not perceive Him through physical sight, but the hearts have seen Him through the realities of faith. He cannot be known through analogy, nor can He be comprehended by the senses, nor can He be compared to people. He is described by the signs and known by the indications; His judgment does not err. That is Allah; there is no deity except Him.” The man then left, saying: “Allah knows best where He places His message.”

Once a rabbi (hibr) came to Imam Ali (a.s.) and asked, ‘O Amir al-mu’minin, have you seen your Lord when worshipping Him?’” Imam Ali (a.s.) replied, “This is not a proper question. I would not have worshipped a Lord whom I could not see.” He then asked, “How did you see Him?” Imam Ali (a.s.) said, “This is not a proper statement. Eyes can not see Him in eye-witnessing process but hearts see Him in the realities of faith.”

“I mentioned the words of Allah , ‘No mortal eyes can see Him, but He can see all eyes. He is All-kind and All-aware.’ (6:103) to Imam abu Ja’far (a.s.). He said, “O abu Hashim, Awham (mentioned above) of hearts are keener and sharper than the perceptions of the eyes. Through the Awham of the heart you can perceive countries like Sind, Hind (India) and other cities which you have never seen with your eyes. How can your eyes see Him when the Awham of your heart cannot perceive Him?”