What is the meaning of the Hadith: "Contemplate the blessings of Allah, but do not contemplate Allah, عز وجل (the Mighty and Majestic)"?

This hadith (definition) is weak through the chain of Ibn Umar, but it has been narrated through other, better chains, such as those from Abdullah ibn Salam and Abdullah ibn Abbas.

The correct view is that it is a saying attributed to some Companions (mauquf).

Al-Sakhawi mentioned the aforementioned hadiths and said: "Their chains of narration are weak, but their collective presence gains strength, and the meaning is sound."

As for the meaning of the hadith: "Contemplate the blessings of Allah" means His graces, and "Contemplate the creation of Allah" means what He has spread throughout the universes, such as souls and the like.

As for "and do not contemplate Allah" or "the essence of Allah," it is a prohibition from doing so because "there is nothing like Him" (Quran 42:11), and the human intellect is limited and cannot grasp the essence of the Lord. Contemplating blessings and creations increases love for Allah and faith in Him in the heart, whereas contemplating the essence of Allah brings confusion and deviation.

Ibn al-Qayyim said: "Contemplating the blessings and graces of Allah, His commands and prohibitions, and the ways of knowing Him and His names and attributes, yields love and knowledge for its owner."

"In contrast to these thoughts are the bad thoughts that circulate in the hearts of most of these creatures, such as contemplating what one is not commanded to contemplate, and what one has not been given comprehensive knowledge of, from superfluous knowledge that is of no benefit, such as contemplating the manner of the Lord's essence and attributes, which the intellects have no way of grasping."