How can the Almighty's saying be understood: "Do they await but that Allah should come to them in covers of clouds and the angels [as well]?" while He is unseen and limitless? Does this imply the embodiment of God? And why did the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) not punish Abdullah ibn Ubayy with the hadd penalty for slander in the incident of the Ifk (slander), as he did others? And why did the Prophet (peace be upon him) contravene the Quranic command for complete segregation from women during menstruation, according to what is mentioned in the Hadith?
Describing God as "invisible" is not entirely accurate unless qualified, for seeing Him is possible for believers in the Afterlife, without comprehension or encompassment. In the interpretation of the verse: "Are they waiting for nothing but that Allah should come to them in covers of clouds and angels," "waiting" means anticipating, and "in covers" means with the covers. Allah the Almighty is too great to be encompassed by anything, and the verse is a threat to the disbelievers about the Day of Judgment. What was narrated from Ibn Abbas, that it is from the concealed matters, means that the how of Allah's coming is unknown, and this is the required methodology concerning matters of the unseen. As for incarnation, it does not apply to Allah, for the meaning of the verse has no relation to the concept of incarnation in any context. Regarding the second question, Ibn Salul—the head of the hypocrites—was not subjected to the had punishment in the incident of the slander, either because hudud are expiation and he was not worthy of it, or because he did not confess to the slander, or for the benefit of the Islamic call and to win over his people, unlike Hassan, Mistah, and Hamnah, who were punished to purify them. As for the third question, the meaning of isolating women during menstruation is to abstain from sexual intercourse in the vagina, while permissible direct contact means enjoying relations without penetration.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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