Mustadrak al-Hakim — Hadith 217

(2) القائل: "وأخبرنا" هو شيخ المصنف أبو بكر بن إسحاق.
Note: The one who says "wa akhbarana" in the chain is the author's (al-Hakim's) teacher, Abu Bakr bin Ishaq.

(3) إسناده صحيح. هشام بن أبي عبد الله: هو الدَّستُوائي.
Grading: Its chain is sahih.
Note: Hisham bin Abi Abd Allah is the well-known imam "al-Dastuwa'i".
وسيأتي عند المصنف برقم (3151) و (3789) من طريق إسحاق بن إبراهيم - وهو ابن راهويه. عن معاذ بن هشام.
Important point: This narration will come again further on at numbers (3151) and (3789) through the route of Imam Ishaq bin Rahawayh.
وسيأتي برقم (4141) من طريق عاصم الأحول عن عكرمة مرفوعًا دون ذكر الرؤية، ولا يصح رفعُه كما سنبيّنه هناك.
Details of the narration: And this narration will come further on at number (4141) through the route of Asim al-Ahwal from Ikrimah as "marfu'" (as a saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)), without mention of the seeing (of Allah),
Technical note / Defect ('illah): and its being marfu' is not correct, as we will explain there.
الخُلَّة: الصداقة والمحبّة.
Note / Clarification: "Al-Khullah" means deep friendship and love.
قال شيخ الإسلام ابن تيمية ﵀ في "مجموع الفتاوى" 6/ 509 - 510: وأما الرؤية فالذي ¤ ¤ ثبت في "الصحيح" [هو في "صحيح مسلم" (176) (285)] عن ابن عباس أنه قال: "رأى محمدٌ ربه بفؤاده مرتين"، وعائشة أنكرت الرؤية، فمن الناس من جمع بينهما فقال: عائشة أنكرت رؤية العين، وابن عباس أثبت رؤية الفؤاد.
Important point: Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) says in "Majmu' al-Fatawa" (6/509-510): As for the matter of "the seeing" (of Allah), what is established in "al-Sahih" [i.e. in Sahih Muslim (176, 285)] from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) is that he said: "Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) saw his Lord with his heart twice", while A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) denied the seeing. So some people (of knowledge) reconciled the two statements, saying: A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) denied "seeing with the eyes", while Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) affirmed "seeing with the heart".
والألفاظ الثابتة عن ابن عباس هي مطلقة، أو مقيدة بالفؤاد، تارة يقول: رأى محمدٌ ربه، وتارة يقول: رآه محمد، ولم يثبت عن ابن عباس لفظ صريح بأنه رآه بعينه.
Important point: (Ibn Taymiyyah further says:) The wordings established from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) are either unqualified or qualified with the heart (fu'ad). Sometimes he says: "Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) saw his Lord", and sometimes he says: "Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) saw Him", but no explicit wording is established from Ibn Abbas stating that he (peace and blessings be upon him) saw Him "with his eye".
وكذلك الإمام أحمد، تارة يطلق الرؤية، وتارة يقول: رآه بفؤاده، ولم يقل أحد أنه سمع أحمد يقول: رآه بعينه، لكن طائفة من أصحابه سمعوا بعض كلامه المطلق، ففهموا منه رؤية العين، كما سمع بعض الناس مطلق كلام ابن عباس، ففهم منه رؤية العين.
Important point: Likewise Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal: sometimes he mentions the seeing unqualified, and sometimes he says "he saw Him with his heart". No one said that he heard Ahmad saying "he saw Him with his eye", but a group of his companions (students) heard some of his unqualified statements and understood "seeing with the eye" from them, just as some people heard the unqualified statement of Ibn Abbas and took it to mean seeing with the eye.
وليس في الأدلة ما يقتضي أنه رآه بعينه، ولا ثبت ذلك عن أحد من الصحابة، ولا في الكتاب والسنة ما يدل على ذلك، بل النصوص الصحيحة على نفيه أدل، كما في "صحيح مسلم" (178) عن أبي ذر قال: سألت رسول الله ﷺ: هل رأيت ربك؟ فقال: "نور، أنَّى أراه".
Important point: There is nothing in the evidence requiring that he (peace and blessings be upon him) saw Him with his eye, nor is that established from any Companion, nor is there anything in the Book and the Sunnah that indicates it. Rather, the authentic texts point more strongly to its negation, as in "Sahih Muslim" (178) from Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: I asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): Did you see your Lord? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "He is light; how could I see Him? (or: light prevented me from seeing Him)".
وقد قال تعالى: ﴿سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي أَسْرَى بِعَبْدِهِ لَيْلًا مِنَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ إِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ الْأَقْصَى الَّذِي بَارَكْنَا حَوْلَهُ لِنُرِيَهُ مِنْ آيَاتِنَا﴾ ولو كان قد أراه نفسه بعينه لكان ذكر ذلك أولى. وكذلك قوله: ﴿أَفَتُمَارُونَهُ عَلَى مَا يَرَى﴾، ﴿لَقَدْ رَأَى مِنْ آيَاتِ رَبِّهِ الْكُبْرَى﴾، ولو كان رآه بعينه لكان ذكر ذلك أولى.
Important point: Allah the Exalted said: {Glorified is He who took His servant by night from al-Masjid al-Haram to al-Masjid al-Aqsa, whose surroundings We have blessed, to show him some of Our signs}. Had Allah shown him His own Self with the eye, mentioning that would have been more fitting (and more important). Likewise Allah's words: {Will you then dispute with him over what he saw?}, {He certainly saw some of the greatest signs of his Lord}; had he seen the Lord with the eye, mentioning that would have been more fitting (than mentioning the signs).
وفي "الصحيحين" عن ابن عباس في قوله: ﴿وَمَا جَعَلْنَا الرُّؤْيَا الَّتِي أَرَيْنَاكَ إِلَّا فِتْنَةً لِلنَّاسِ وَالشَّجَرَةَ الْمَلْعُونَةَ فِي الْقُرْآنِ﴾، قال: هي رؤيا عين أُريها رسول الله ﷺ ليلة أسري به، وهذه رؤيا الآيات، لأنه أخبر الناس بما رآه بعينه ليلة المعراج، فكان ذلك فتنة لهم، حيث صدقه قوم وكذبه قوم، ولم يخبرهم بأنه رأى ربه بعينه وليس في شيء من أحاديث المعراج الثابتة ذكر ذلك، ولو كان قد وقع ذلك لذكره كما ذكر ما دونه.
Important point: In the "Sahihayn" (al-Bukhari and Muslim) it is narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) concerning the words of Allah: {And We did not make the vision which We showed you except as a trial for the people, and the tree cursed in the Qur'an}, Ibn Abbas said: "It was a seeing with the eyes that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was shown on the night of the Mi'raj." (Shaykh al-Islam says:) This was the seeing of "signs", because he (peace and blessings be upon him) told the people about the things (signs) he saw with his own eyes on the night of the Mi'raj, and that became a fitnah (trial) for them, so some people believed him and some denied him. He (peace and blessings be upon him) did not tell them that he had seen his Lord with his eye, nor is that mentioned in any of the established hadiths of the Mi'raj; had it happened, he would certainly have mentioned it, just as he mentioned lesser things.
وقد ثبت بالنصوص نازع فيه بعضُهم من رؤية نبينا محمد ﷺ، خاصةً، واتفقوا على أن المؤمنين يرون الله يوم الصحيحة واتفاق سلف الأمة: أنه لا يرى الله أحدٌ في الدنيا بعينه، إلَّا ما القيامة عيانًا كما يرون الشمس والقمر.
General principle: It is established by the authentic texts and the agreement of the Salaf of the Ummah that no one can see Allah the Exalted with his eye in this world, except for the disagreement some had specifically about the seeing of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). And all agree that the believers will see Allah the Exalted with their eyes on the Day of Resurrection, just as they see the sun and the moon.