Is it valid to describe the believers' vision of Allah on the Day of Resurrection as a "meeting" (muqābalah)? And is it permissible to use this word to describe the vision without sin?
Scholars have stated that the expression "seeing Allah face-to-face" is correct and consistent with the affirmation of the believers' vision of Allah with their eyes in the Hereafter, contrary to the Mu'tazilah and some innovators who denied it or affirmed it while denying direction and elevation.
Ahl al- wal-Jama'ah affirmed Allah's elevation and His 'istiwa' (ascension) over His Throne, and that the believers' vision of Him will be from above. They based their arguments on the statements of Al-Sijzi, Ibn Taymiyyah, and others.
Ibn Taymiyyah explained that affirming the vision of Allah with the eyes in the Hereafter is the قول (saying/belief) of the Salaf of the Ummah and its imams, and that the majority of Muslims say: "He will be seen clearly, face-to-face." He pointed out that those who deny elevation are the ones who said: "He will be seen without مقابلة (facing/confrontation)," and this is the saying of a faction of the Kilabiyah and Ash'ariyah, but not all of them.
Ibn Abi al-Izz al-Hanafi clarified that likening the vision of Allah to the sun and moon is a similitude of vision to vision, not of the seen to the seen. This contains proof of Allah's elevation, emphasizing that "seeing without مقابلة (facing/confrontation)" is inconceivable, and that the saying that Allah is seen "not in a direction" is a false statement that contradicts the evidence.
Evidence that the vision of Allah occurs face-to-face and with مقابلة (facing/confrontation) is derived from the Almighty's saying: "So whoever hopes for the meeting with his Lord - let him do righteous work and not associate anyone in the worship of his Lord." Scholars interpreted "meeting" as looking at the Creator's face and facing Him. Evidence was also drawn from the of Jabir ibn Abdullah, who mentioned that Allah spoke to your father "kifahan," meaning face-to-face without a veil.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/166601
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 166601
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy