Surah An-Najm (53) — Ayah 12

(Ayah 12) ➊ {اَفَتُمٰرُوْنَهٗ: ’’تُمَارُوْنَ‘‘ ’’مَارٰي يُمَارِيْ مِرَاءً وَ مُمَارَاةً‘‘} (Mufa‘alah) is a present tense verb, masculine plural, meaning "to argue." This is an address to the polytheists of Makkah: when the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) told them that no devil comes to him, rather, the angel Jibreel comes to him and he sees him—even in his original form—they refused to accept this and began to argue. Allah Almighty says that you yourselves acknowledge your companion as truthful and trustworthy, so when he tells you that the angel Jibreel comes to him and he sees him with his own eyes, you begin to argue with him. What proof do you have to deny him and argue with him about this?

{إِذَا لَمْ تَرَ الْهِلَالَ فَسَلِّمْ ¤ لِأُنَاسٍ رَأَوْهُ بِالْأَبْصَارِ}

"When you have not seen the moon, then accept the statement of those who have seen it with their own eyes."

➋ { عَلٰى مَا يَرٰى :} Note that here Allah Almighty did not say {’’أَفَتُمَارُوْنَهُ عَلٰي مَا رَأَي‘‘} "Then do you argue with him about what he saw," but rather said: « اَفَتُمٰرُوْنَهٗ عَلٰى مَا يَرٰى » "Then do you argue with him about what he sees." From this, it is understood that what the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was being denied for was his statement: "I see the angel Jibreel when he comes to me." And in reality, this was the case: the first time Jibreel (peace be upon him) came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) in the cave of Hira, although not in his original form, later when he appeared before him in his original form in such a majestic way that the entire horizon from the earth to the sky and from right to left was filled with him, the Prophet (peace be upon him) immediately recognized that this was the same angel who had come to him in the cave of Hira. See the hadith mentioned in the benefit at the end of verses (6 to 9) of this surah. This shows that whenever Jibreel (peace be upon him) came, the Prophet (peace be upon him) recognized him, no matter what form he came in.

The exegesis of this verse has been done along with the previous verse.

Will you then dispute with him concerning what he saw with his eyes [8]?

[8] Its addressees are the Quraysh of Makkah, and it is being said to them that you yourselves acknowledge your companion (Muhammad ﷺ) as a truthful and upright person. And he tells you something based on his personal and direct observation, which happened to him in broad daylight and in a state of wakefulness. Yet you deny his statement and argue with him, so what proof do you have to reject him and to argue against him? It should be noted that there was also a difference of opinion among the Companions regarding whether the Prophet ﷺ saw Jibreel at that time or saw Allah Almighty. The majority of the Companions say that the Prophet ﷺ saw Jibreel. Only Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas رضي الله عنهما is the exception, who says that the Prophet ﷺ saw Allah Almighty, but he also adds the condition that the Prophet ﷺ did not see Allah Almighty with his physical eyes, but rather with his heart or the eyes of his heart. As is evident from the following hadiths.

1. Did the Messenger of Allah ﷺ see Jibreel or Allah? Masruq says that I asked Umm al-Mu'mineen Sayyidah Aisha رضي الله عنها: "Mother! Did Muhammad ﷺ see his Lord?" She replied: "Your statement has made my hair stand on end. Can you not understand three things? Whoever tells you any of these is a liar. Whoever tells you that Muhammad ﷺ saw his Lord has lied." Then she recited this verse: ﴿لَا تُدْرِكُهُ الْاَبْصَارُ وَهُوَ يُدْرِكُ الْاَبْصَارَ وَهُوَ اللَّطِيْفُ الْخَبِيْرُ وَمَا كَانَ لِبَشَرٍ أَن يُكَلِّمَهُ اللَّـهُ إِلَّا وَحْيًا أَوْ مِن وَرَاءِ حِجَابٍ﴾ "And whoever tells you that the Prophet ﷺ knew what would happen tomorrow has also lied." Then she recited this verse: ﴿وَمَا تَدْرِيْ نَفْسٌ مَّاذَا تَكْسِبُ غَدًا وَمَا تَدْرِيْ نَفْسٌ بِاَيِّ اَرْضٍ تَمُوْتُ اِنَّ اللّٰهَ عَلِيْمٌ خَبِيْرٌ﴾ "And whoever tells you that the Prophet ﷺ concealed something from the revelation has also lied." Then she recited this verse: ﴿يٰٓاَيُّهَا الرَّسُوْلُ بَلِّــغْ مَآ اُنْزِلَ اِلَيْكَ مِنْ رَّبِّكَ﴾ "Rather, the Prophet ﷺ saw Jibreel in his true form twice." [بخاري، كتاب التفسير]

2. Sha'bi says that in Arafat, Ka'b met Ibn Abbas رضي الله عنهما and asked him something. Then Ka'b said "Allahu Akbar" so loudly that the mountain echoed. Ibn Abbas رضي الله عنهما said: "We are Banu Hashim (i.e., do not be so angry with us)." Ka'b said: "Allah Almighty divided His vision and speech between Muhammad ﷺ and Musa ؑ. Musa ؑ spoke to Allah twice, and Muhammad ﷺ saw Allah twice." Masruq says that then I went to Sayyidah Aisha رضي الله عنها and asked: "Did Muhammad ﷺ see his Lord?" She replied: "You have said something that has made my hair stand on end." I said: "Please think about it." Then I recited this verse: ﴿لَقَد رَايٰ مِنْ آيَاتِ رَبِّهِ الْكُبْرٰي﴾ Sayyidah Aisha رضي الله عنها said to me: "Where has your mind gone? That was Jibreel. Whoever tells you that Muhammad ﷺ saw his Lord, or concealed any part of what he was commanded, or knew the five things which Allah Almighty mentioned in this verse ﴿اِنَّ اللّٰهَ عِنْدَهٗ عِلْمُ السَّاعَةِ﴾ [34:31], he has fabricated a great lie against Allah. Rather, the Prophet ﷺ saw Jibreel in his true form twice: once near Sidrat al-Muntaha and once in (the Makkah neighborhood of) Jiyad. He had six hundred wings and covered the horizons of the sky." [ترمذي۔ ابواب التفسير]

Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas رضي الله عنهما recited this verse: ﴿مَا كَذَبَ الْفُؤَادُ مَا رَاٰي﴾ and said that the Prophet ﷺ saw Allah Almighty with his heart (the eye of his heart). [حواله ايضاً]

3. Sayyiduna Abu Dharr ؓ says that I asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: "Did you see Allah Almighty?" The Prophet ﷺ replied: "He is Light; how could I see Him?" [حواله ايضاً]

And in my opinion, after this restriction by Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas رضي الله عنهما, the reason for the difference of opinion is automatically resolved. Because what is explicit in the Quran is that no person can see Allah Almighty with his physical eyes in this world. And in the Hereafter, the seeing of Allah Almighty by the people of Paradise is explicitly mentioned in authentic hadiths.