Surah An-Najm (53) — Ayah 18

(Ayah 18) ➊ { لَقَدْ رَاٰى مِنْ اٰيٰتِ رَبِّهِ الْكُبْرٰى:’’ مِنْ ‘‘} is partitive (to denote 'some of'), meaning it is an oath that the Prophet (peace be upon him) saw some of the greatest signs of his Lord on that occasion. Among these greatest signs, the first sign is Jibreel (Gabriel), whom he saw twice, and for the mention of seeing him twice, these verses were revealed. In addition, in the hadiths of Mi'raj, there is mention of many other signs that the Prophet (peace be upon him) saw on that occasion. These include Buraq, the wonders of the seven heavens and meeting the noble Prophets upon them, Dajjal, Sidrat al-Muntaha, Paradise and Hell, the keeper of Hell Malik, the river Kawthar, Bayt al-Ma'mur, four rivers, that elevated, level place upon which he ascended and heard the sounds of pens writing, and other signs. For the sake of brevity, their details are omitted.

➋ This verse is clear evidence that the Prophet (peace be upon him) did not see Allah Almighty on the night of Mi'raj, because if that had happened, Allah would not have said with the emphatic words of {’’ لَقَدْ ‘‘} that "Indeed, he saw some of the greatest signs of his Lord," but rather would have said, "Indeed, he saw his Most High Lord."

➌ As mentioned earlier, {’’ شَدِيْدُ الْقُوٰى ‘‘} and {’’ ذُوْ مِرَّةٍ ‘‘} refer to Jibreel (Gabriel), and the pronouns in {’’ دَنَا فَتَدَلّٰى ‘‘} and {’’ فَكَانَ قَابَ قَوْسَيْنِ ‘‘} also refer to him, and in {’’ وَ لَقَدْ رَاٰهُ ‘‘}, the pronoun {’’هُ ‘‘} also refers to Jibreel (Gabriel). This is supported by the Qur'an and by the authentic narrations of the interpretation of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him). The same interpretation is narrated from Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) and Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) in Sahih Muslim. [ دیکھیے مسلم، الإیمان، باب معنی قول اللّٰہ عزوجل : «ولقد راٰہ نزلۃ أخری» : ۱۷۵،۱۷۷ ]

However, some commentators have considered the referent of these words and pronouns to be Allah Almighty, saying that the meaning of these verses is that the Prophet (peace be upon him) saw Allah Almighty twice. To support this, they have presented the statement of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both): [ عَنْ أَبِي الْعَالِيَةِ عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ قَالَ : «مَا كَذَبَ الْفُؤَادُ مَا رَاٰى» ، «وَ لَقَدْ رَاٰهُ نَزْلَةً اُخْرٰى» قَالَ رَآهُ بِفُؤَادِهِ مَرَّتَيْنِ ] [ مسلم، الإیمان، باب معنی قول اللّٰہ عزوجل : «ولقد راٰہ نزلۃ أخرٰی» …: ۱۷۶ ] "Abu Al-Aliyah narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) regarding the interpretation of {’’ مَا كَذَبَ الْفُؤَادُ مَا رَاٰى ‘‘} and {’’ وَ لَقَدْ رَاٰهُ نَزْلَةً اُخْرٰى ‘‘} that the Prophet (peace be upon him) saw him with his heart twice." There is no doubt that the wording of the verses allows for the interpretation of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), but in Sahih Muslim, it is narrated from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) himself said that what is meant is Jibreel (Gabriel). Obviously, after the explicit statement of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), no other interpretation can be considered. Now, observe the words of the hadith: Masruq says that I was reclining at the house of Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), and she said: [ يَا أَبَا عَائِشَةَ! ثَلاَثٌ مَنْ تَكَلَّمَ بِوَاحِدَةٍ مِّنْهُنَّ فَقَدْ أَعْظَمَ عَلَی اللّٰهِ الْفِرْيَةَ، قُلْتُ مَا هُنَّ؟ قَالَتْ مَنْ زَعَمَ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ رَاٰی رَبَّهُ فَقَدْ أَعْظَمَ عَلَی اللّٰهِ الْفِرْيَةَ، قَالَ وَكُنْتُ مُتَّكِئًا فَجَلَسْتُ فَقُلْتُ يَا أُمَّ الْمُؤْمِنِيْنَ ! أَنْظِرِيْنِيْ وَلَا تَعْجَلِيْنِيْ أَلَمْ يَقُلِ اللّٰهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : « وَ لَقَدْ رَاٰهُ بِالْاُفُقِ الْمُبِيْنِ» [ التكوير : ۲۳] «وَ لَقَدْ رَاٰهُ نَزْلَةً اُخْرٰى» [ النجم : ۱۳] فَقَالَتْ أَنَا أَوَّلُ هٰذِهِ الْأُمَّةِ سَأَلَ عَنْ ذٰلِكَ رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَالَ إِنَّمَا هُوَ جِبْرِيْلُ لَمْ أَرَهُ عَلٰی صُوْرَتِهِ الَّتِيْ خُلِقَ عَلَيْهَا غَيْرَ هَاتَيْنِ الْمَرَّتَيْنِ، رَأَيْتُهُ مُنْهَبِطًا مِنَ السَّمَاءِ سَادًّا عِظَمُ خَلْقِهِ مَا بَيْنَ السَّمَاءِ إِلَی الْأَرْضِ، فَقَالَتْ أَوَ لَمْ تَسْمَعْ أَنَّ اللّٰهَ يَقُوْلُ : «لَا تُدْرِكُهُ الْاَبْصَارُ وَ هُوَ يُدْرِكُ الْاَبْصَارَ وَ هُوَ اللَّطِيْفُ الْخَبِيْرُ» [ الأنعام : ۱۰۳] أَوَ لَمْ تَسْمَعْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَقُوْلُ : «وَ مَا كَانَ لِبَشَرٍ اَنْ يُّكَلِّمَهُ اللّٰهُ اِلَّا وَحْيًا اَوْ مِنْ وَّرَآئِ حِجَابٍ اَوْ يُرْسِلَ رَسُوْلًا فَيُوْحِيَ بِاِذْنِهٖ مَا يَشَآءُ اِنَّهٗ عَلِيٌّ حَكِيْمٌ» [ الشورٰي : ۵۱ ] ] [ مسلم، الإیمان، باب معنی قولہ : «ولقد راٰہ نزلۃ أخری» : ۱۷۷ ] "O Abu Aisha! There are three things, whoever says any one of them has fabricated a great lie against Allah." I said: "What are they?" She said: "Whoever thinks that Muhammad (peace be upon him) saw his Lord, he has fabricated a great lie against Allah." Masruq says, I was reclining, but upon hearing this, I sat up straight and said: "Mother of the Believers! Give me some respite, do not be hasty. Did Allah not say: « وَ لَقَدْ رَاٰهُ بِالْاُفُقِ الْمُبِيْنِ» [ التکویر : ۲۳ ] 'And indeed, he saw him at the clear horizon.' And He said: « وَ لَقَدْ رَاٰهُ نَزْلَةً اُخْرٰى » 'And indeed, he saw him another time as he descended.'?" She said: "I am the first of this Ummah to ask the Prophet (peace be upon him) about this, and he said: 'That was Jibreel (Gabriel). I did not see him in the form in which he was created except these two times. I saw him descending from the sky, his great form filling the space between the sky and the earth.'" Then the Mother of the Believers (may Allah be pleased with her) said: "Did you not hear that Allah says: «لَا تُدْرِكُهُ الْاَبْصَارُ وَ هُوَ يُدْرِكُ الْاَبْصَارَ وَ هُوَ اللَّطِيْفُ الْخَبِيْرُ » [ الأنعام : ۱۰۳ ] 'Vision perceives Him not, but He perceives [all] vision; and He is the Subtle, the Acquainted.' And did you not hear that Allah says: «وَ مَا كَانَ لِبَشَرٍ اَنْ يُّكَلِّمَهُ اللّٰهُ اِلَّا وَحْيًا اَوْ مِنْ وَّرَآئِ حِجَابٍ اَوْ يُرْسِلَ رَسُوْلًا فَيُوْحِيَ بِاِذْنِهٖ مَا يَشَآءُ اِنَّهٗ عَلِيٌّ حَكِيْمٌ » [ الشورٰی : ۵۱ ] 'And it is not for any human being that Allah should speak to him except by revelation or from behind a veil, or that He sends a messenger to reveal, by His permission, what He wills. Indeed, He is Most High and Wise.'"

Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "It is narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) saw (Allah) with his heart, and in one narration, it is mentioned simply as 'seeing,' but what is meant is also seeing with the heart. And those who narrated from him seeing with the eyes have narrated something odd, because nothing is established from the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) about this (seeing with the eyes), and what Al-Baghawi said in his Tafsir that a group said the Prophet (peace be upon him) saw Allah Almighty with his eyes, and that this is the statement of Anas, Hasan, and Ikrimah, then Al-Baghawi's statement is questionable." (Ibn Kathir)

In summary, the seeing of Allah Almighty by the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) with his eyes is not authentically narrated from any Companion. The statement of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) about seeing with the heart, if it is in view of these verses, is not correct, because it is contrary to the explicit statement of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). However, it is authentically established with sound chains that the Prophet (peace be upon him) saw Allah Almighty in a dream, and this seeing was with the heart, because the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: [ يَا عَائِشَةُ! إِنَّ عَيْنَيَّ تَنَامَانِ وَلاَ يَنَامُ قَلْبِيْ ] [ بخاري، صلاۃ التراویح، باب فضل من قام رمضان : ۲۰۱۳ ] "O Aisha! My eyes sleep but my heart does not sleep." Here, a hadith is mentioned regarding the Prophet (peace be upon him) seeing Allah Almighty in a state of sleep. Mu'adh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) says: "One day the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was delayed from coming to us for the morning prayer until we were about to see the disc of the sun. Then he came quickly, the iqamah for prayer was given, and he led us in prayer, making it brief. When he finished, he said in a loud voice: 'Remain seated in your rows.' Then he said: [ أَمَا إِنِّيْ سَأُحَدِّثُكُمْ مَا حَبَسَنِيْ عَنْكُمُ الْغَدَاةَ، إِنِّيْ قُمْتُ مِنَ اللَّيْلِ فَتَوَضَّأْتُ وَصَلَّيْتُ مَا قُدِّرَ لِيْ فَنَعَسْتُ فِيْ صَلاَتِيْ حَتَّی اسْتَثْقَلْتُ فَإِذَا أَنَا بِرَبِّيْ تَبَارَكَ وَ تَعَالٰی فِيْ أَحْسَنِ صُوْرَةٍ فَقَالَ يَا مُحَمَّدُ! قُلْتُ لَبَّيْكَ رَبِّ! قَالَ فِيْمَ يَخْتَصِمُ الْمَلَأُ الْأَعْلٰی؟ قُلْتُ لاَ أَدْرِيْ رَبِّ ! قَالَهَا ثَلاَثًا قَالَ فَرَأَيْتُهُ وَضَعَ كَفَّهُ بَيْنَ كَتِفَيَّ قَدْ وَ جَدْتُ بَرْدَ أَنَامِلِهِ بَيْنَ ثَدْيَيَّ فَتَجَلّٰی لِيْ كُلُّ شَيْءٍ وَعَرَفْتُ ] [ ترمذي، التفسیر، سورۃ صٓ : ۳۲۳۵ ] 'Listen! I will tell you what kept me from coming to you this morning. Last night I got up, performed ablution, and prayed as much as was decreed for me. Then I became drowsy in my prayer until I became heavy. Suddenly, I was with my Lord, Blessed and Exalted, in the most beautiful form. He said: "O Muhammad!" I said: "Here I am, my Lord!" He said: "What are the angels of the highest assembly disputing about?" I said: "I do not know." He said this three times. (The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:) "Then I saw Him place His palm between my shoulders, and I felt the coolness of His fingertips in the middle of my chest, and everything became clear to me, and I knew (what the angels were disputing about)." The hadith continues at length. Al-Tirmidhi said: "This hadith is Hasan Sahih, and I asked Muhammad ibn Ismail al-Bukhari about this hadith, and he said: 'This hadith is Hasan Sahih.'"

Imam al-Tirmidhi also narrated this hadith from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) with minor differences, and Shaykh al-Albani declared it Sahih. Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) said that in Musnad Ahmad (1/285), the hadith from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) {’’رَأَيْتُ رَبِّيْ تَبَارَكَ وَ تَعَالٰي‘‘} (I saw my Lord, the Mighty and Majestic) is an abridgment of the same chain of narration, because Imam Ahmad also narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) the detailed hadith about seeing in a dream, which has been mentioned above from al-Tirmidhi.

In Sahih al-Bukhari, in the hadith narrated from Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), there is mention of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) seeing Allah Almighty: [ وَدَنَا الْجَبَّارُ رَبُّ الْعِزَّةِ فَتَدَلّٰی حَتّٰی كَانَ مِنْهُ قَابَ قَوْسَيْنِ أَوْ أَدْنٰی فَأَوْحَی اللّٰهُ فِيْمَا أَوْحٰی إِلَيْهِ خَمْسِيْنَ صَلاَةً عَلٰی أُمَّتِكَ كُلَّ يَوْمٍ وَ لَيْلَةٍ ] [بخاري، التوحید، باب ما جاء في قولہ عزوجل : « وکلم اللّٰہ موسٰی تکلیما » : ۷۵۱۷ ] "And the Compeller, Lord of Might, drew near and descended until He was two bow-lengths away or even closer. Then Allah revealed to him what He revealed, and among that was the obligation of fifty prayers upon your Ummah day and night." This is a lengthy hadith, and at the beginning and end of this hadith, it is clearly stated that this matter was in a dream, and there is no difference of opinion regarding the Prophet (peace be upon him) seeing Allah Almighty in a dream. As for whether the Mi'raj occurred multiple times, the scholars have said that the Mi'raj in a state of wakefulness occurred only once, and before that, as a prelude, all of this was shown to the Prophet (peace be upon him) in a dream. For details, see Ibn Kathir's Tafsir of Surah Bani Isra'il and Fath al-Bari in the explanation of the mentioned hadith. Also, see the commentary on verse (103) of Surah Al-An'am in this Tafsir.

18. 1. Among them are the seeing of Jibreel (علیہ السلام) and Sidrat al-Muntaha, and witnessing other manifestations of power, some details of which have been mentioned in the ahadith of Mi'raj.

Indeed, he saw some of the greatest signs [11] of his Lord.

[11]
Jibreelؑ is Also One of the Great Signs of Allah:

From this verse, it is also understood that you ﷺ did not see your Lord, but rather saw one of His great signs. Because if you ﷺ had actually seen Allah Almighty, then this was such an important and virtuous matter that it would have been necessary to mention it explicitly, since even Sayyiduna Musaؑ received the answer of ﴿لَنْ تَرَانِيْ﴾. What were these great signs? Only Allah knows their details. Allah Almighty also showed Sayyiduna Ibrahimؑ ﴿مَلَكُوْتَ السَّمٰوٰتِ وَالاَرْضِ﴾. It seems that on such occasions, some veils of the unseen are lifted from the eyes of the Prophets (peace be upon them), just as some scenes of Paradise and Hell were shown to you. ﴿والله اعلم بالصواب﴾