Vision of Allah

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّ حِيْمِ

 

Question: Is it possible to see Allah in this life?

 

Allah says about Himself in Surah Hadeed the following:

 

He is the First (He existed when nothing was created), He is the Last (He will continue to exist when everything will come to an end) He is the Seen, (Manifest) and He is the Hidden. (57:3)

 

If we should take the literal meaning, it means that He could be seen.  Allah also says:

 

Allah testifies to the fact that there is no god but He and the angels testify and those endued with knowledge, standing firm on justice. (3:18)

 

To testify to a fact here means to see Him. Only the selected few will be able to do so.  It is a fact, as the Lord rightly says:

 

No vision can grasp Him, but He is able to see everything. (6:103)

 

It means that except for Prophet Muhammad (pboh) on the night of the Miraj, no other creature will be able to view Him in the physical domain of space and time, with their physical eyes.

 

Out of His Mercies, He has made available a pathway of ascent for human beings. He says about it that He is Zil Ma’arij, (The Possessor of the Ascending Stairways). (70:3)

 

It means that creatures have the power to ascend higher and higher towards Him according to their capacities and because of His Mercies. The angels cannot get very close to Him, because they questioned His decision to appoint Adam as His Khalifah on the earth.  So too, all other Messengers, etc. expressed some form of limitations regarding their understanding of Him and the way He works.

 

It was only Prophet Muhammad (pboh) who was blessed with limitless capacity. This was because Allah says that: Nor does he say anything of his own desire. (53:3).

 

The Prophet (pboh) was totally submissive and never questioned any matter pertaining the working of the Lord; as a result he was able to ascend two bow’s length or even closer to Him. (53:9)

 

Because he had no stains on his qalb, ruh or nafs, he could have ascended very close to his Lord, and get a full view of Him. The same thing will happen to the righteous when they will be stationed in Paradise.

 

The condition of experiencing the Lord is to have: no stains on the qalb.  (83:14); and also to have no smoke around the ruh. (6:82).

 

Anyone who can develop themselves free from such will be able to have a vision of the Lord (Al Zahir) according to the extent of their spiritual development. Prophet Muhammad (pboh) is reported to have said that: Among my followers there will be those who will be higher in status than the Messengers of Bani Israel. This means that they will be blessed with greater ascent than those Messengers.

 

But is it possible to rationalize such an experience; definitely not; so that the selected few who will be blessed with such an experience, will never let anyone know about what they saw.

 

This issue existed even in the time of the Prophet (pboh) as it is reported that Hazrat Ayesha said that anyone who say that the Prophet (pboh) saw Allah, is not telling the truth. The Prophet (pboh) never commented on it.

 

Those who are blessed with experience of being close to Allah will never speak about it to any, as that is a personal matter; and is not something to advertise.

 

So that you will get differing views about this matter, but only the Lord knows best.

 

 

May Allah bless us.

 

Yours sincerely,

Dr. Waffie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Unique Birth

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّ حِيْمِ

Prophet Jesus (as) was sent in this world in a very unique way.  He did not come through the usual process of conception as a normal human being.  Allah sent the soul of Jesus (as) in Maryam and gradually the body was formed.  That is why he was formed and fashioned without a male agent.

Prophet Muhammad (pboh) also came into this world in a special way, albeit not like Jesus (as).  He came into this world as a normal human being.  Perhaps this is one of the reasons why Allah says;

Say (O Muhammad): “I am a man like you”.  (18:110)

 

However every human being upon conception, the foetus grows and forms, and it is only after four months then Allah unites the soul with the body.  Only then will it be regarded as a perfect human being.  In the interim it is not a human being in the true sense of the word; it is a creature. 

This was not the case with Prophet Muhammad (pboh).  He was a perfect, complete human being from the time of conception because of the special light that was there on the forehead of Abdullah before he got married to Amina, and after marriage, the light went into Amina.

We find evidence of this of when his father, Abdullah was going to marry Aminah.    As the record shows that when the wedding was going to take place a woman by the name of Qutaylah saw him approaching and was struck by the radiance which lit his face and which seemed to her to shine from beyond this world. 

When he was passing by her she said “O Abdullah take me now as thy wife and thou shalt have as many camels as those that were sacrificed in thystead”.  To this Abdullah replied “I am with my father; I cannot act against his wishes, and I cannot leave him”!  The marriage eventually took place at the home of Aminah.  Sometime after, Abdullah went to fetch something from his own house, and again he met Qutaylah.  Her eyes searched his face with such earnestness that he stopped beside her expecting her to speak.  When she remained silent, he asked her why she did not say to him what she had said the day before.  She answered him, saying: “The light hath left thee that was with thee yesterday”.  (Muhammad: his life based on the earliest sources – Martin Lings)

I believe that the light spoken about was the soul of Prophet Muhammad (pboh).  And what we gather is that the soul of Prophet Muhammad (pboh) and his blessed body began growing together.  We can further substantiate this with the fact that while Aminah was carrying the child in her womb she saw a light issue from her which illuminated even the castles of Busra in Syria.  (Life of Muhammad: Translated by Michael Edwards)

And even after his birth and throughout his life the light never separated from him.  For example when he was young and in the care of Halima he went missing one day.  When they searched for him they saw a bright light on a tree, unlike any they ever saw.  Upon further investigation that light was where young Muhammad (pboh) was.

And we know of the popular narrations where his Companions swore that at times his personality was brighter and more beautiful than the full moon.  This can possibly by why the children of Madinah once sung Tala al badru alayna - Oh the full moon has risen over us.

We are very fortunate that this perfect person is our guide and model.  And not only that, part of his job is to share that light with us; Sirajum Munirah – a lamp that gives light.  Perhaps that is why Allah says;

Indeed, there has come to You from Allah a light (Prophet Muhammad) and a plain Book (this Qur'an).  (5:15)

The Prophet’s mission can be identified as two dimensions; one is to invite to Allah and the next is to share the light.  Allah is constantly sending the light on him.  The night of the Mi’aj, which we recently marked, was the occasion when he was invited by his Lord to make that connection.  And from then onwards he is distributing the light that Allah is sending on him.  And if we connect with him we can also share and benefit from it.  

Ask yourself this question; why do we send darood on Prophet (pboh)?  Allah has already blessed him.  He is already Khatamul Nabi; Rahmatul Alameen etc.  When we engage in darood we share in the blessings that Allah is constantly sending on him.  If you want your light to grow connect to him by reciting darood abundantly.

And remember if you are pure and clean you can see Allah.  That’s why one Masheikh once said ‘I saw my Lord in my dream’.  If you purify yourself you can see your Lord.  How you will see Him, Allah knows.

Why say this?  What is my proof?  It is recorded that Prophet Muhammad (pboh) said: “When the people of Paradise enter in Paradise it will be asked of them, ‘Do you need something more’?  They will say ‘have you not whitened our faces? Have you not entered us in Paradise and protected us from Hell’?  Then Allah will remove the veil.  Looking to their Lord will be more lovely to them than anything else given to them.  And then Prophet (pboh) recited this verse: For those who have done good is the best (reward, i.e. Paradise) and even more (i.e. having the honour of glancing at the Countenance of Allah.  (10:26)

The more you purify yourself, the nearer you will get to your Lord.  That is the recipe for ascent.  Remove all the blemishes from your personality and brighten your countenance.  Allah says of those servants some faces that Day will be bright (80:38).

We beg Allah to help us, guide us and give us something of His vision in this life so we will be blessed to get more in the next.  May He take care of us, guide us and take us closer to Him insha Allah.

Transcript of discourse delivered by
Maulana Dr. Waffie Mohammed 

The video presentation of this discourse can be accessed at
http://www.youtube.com/markazalihsaan