Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
The revealed texts affirm that the believers will see their Lord on the Day of Resurrection. They also state that Allah will come to them at first in a form by which they do not recognize Him, as a test for them, and then He will manifest Himself to them in the form by which they recognize Him.
This is among the matters of the unseen in which we believe as they have been transmitted, without asking how and without likening them to created beings. It is not correct to say that Allah “takes on a shape” like created beings. Likewise, Allah was not fire or a tree when He spoke to Moses, peace be upon him, for Allah says:
﴿لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ﴾
“There is nothing like unto Him.”
In the hadith of Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him, in Sahih Muslim, it is mentioned that Allah, the Exalted, will come to the believers on the Day of Resurrection. It states:
“The Lord of the worlds, Glorified and Exalted, will come to them in a form closer to the one in which they had seen Him.”
Then He will say to them:
“I am your Lord.”
They will be tested, then the Shin will be uncovered, and the believers will prostrate, while those who used to prostrate in this world out of showing off and hypocrisy will be unable to prostrate.
In a narration in Sahih al-Bukhari:
“Then the Almighty will come to them in a form different from the form in which they saw Him the first time.”
Then He, Glorified be He, will come to them in the form by which they recognize Him, and they will say:
“You are our Lord.”
It is better to adhere to the wording of the revealed texts and not express the matter using phrases such as “He takes on a shape” or compare it to the transformation of created beings, because the hadith informs us of the form, but it does not inform us of its manner.
The form in which Allah comes to His servants is among the matters of the unseen, whose manner we do not know. It is not permissible for us to imagine it or compare it to the forms we know among created beings.
Allah says:
﴿لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْبَصِيرُ﴾
“There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.”
[Ash-Shura: 11]
Therefore, the correct position is to affirm what the Prophet ﷺ informed us of, while denying any resemblance and refraining from discussing how it is.
According to what the hadiths indicate, this occurs as a test and a means of distinction.
When He says to them:
“I am your Lord,”
they do not follow merely on the basis of this claim. Rather, they seek refuge in Allah until their Lord comes to them with the sign by which they recognize Him. At that point, the believers recognize Him and prostrate to Him.
This situation also makes clear the difference between the one who sincerely prostrated to Allah in this world and the one who prostrated out of showing off and seeking reputation. The believer will be able to prostrate, while the hypocrite will be unable to do so.
Yes. Seeing Allah, the Exalted, on the Day of Resurrection is firmly established in the revealed texts. The fatwa also mentions that there is a seeing before the situation described in the hadith.
Among the evidences is the hadith of intercession, in which the Prophet ﷺ says:
“Then I will seek permission to enter upon my Lord, and permission will be granted to me. When I see Him, I will fall down in prostration.”
Narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim.
However, the manner of this seeing, and the manner of what will occur on that Day, are matters of the unseen whose true reality our minds cannot fully grasp.
It is not correct to say that Allah, the Exalted, took the form of fire or a tree.
Allah says concerning the story of Moses, peace be upon him:
﴿فَلَمَّا أَتَاهَا نُودِيَ مِنْ شَاطِئِ الْوَادِ الْأَيْمَنِ فِي الْبُقْعَةِ الْمُبَارَكَةِ مِنَ الشَّجَرَةِ أَنْ يَا مُوسَى إِنِّي أَنَا اللَّهُ رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَ﴾
“But when he came to it, he was called from the right side of the valley, in the blessed place, from the tree: ‘O Moses, indeed I am Allah, Lord of the worlds.’”
[Al-Qasas: 30]
According to the fatwa, Allah truly spoke to Moses, and there was light at the tree, but this does not mean that Allah was dwelling in the tree or had transformed into fire.
The fatwa explains that Allah’s nearness to Moses and His speaking to him do not contradict His exaltedness above creation, and that the manner of this nearness and speech is not to be measured against the states of created beings.
Moses, peace be upon him, did not see his Lord in that situation.
Later, Moses asked to see Allah and said:
﴿رَبِّ أَرِنِي أَنْظُرْ إِلَيْكَ قَالَ لَنْ تَرَانِي وَلَكِنِ انْظُرْ إِلَى الْجَبَلِ فَإِنِ اسْتَقَرَّ مَكَانَهُ فَسَوْفَ تَرَانِي﴾
“My Lord, show Yourself to me so that I may look at You.” He said: “You will not see Me, but look at the mountain; if it remains in its place, then you will see Me.”
[Al-A‘raf: 143]
Thus, Allah’s speaking to Moses does not mean that Moses saw Him, nor does it mean that Allah took the form of fire or a human being.
The hadith “in a form different from the form in which they saw Him the first time” concerns matters of the unseen. We affirm what has come in it without imagining the manner of the form or likening it to the forms of created beings.
We also do not express this by saying that Allah changes into different “shapes,” because such wording may imply a meaning that is not stated in the revealed texts.
Likewise, Allah truly spoke to Moses, peace be upon him, but that does not mean that He was fire, a tree, or took the form of a human being.
The comprehensive principle in this matter is Allah’s statement:
﴿لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْبَصِيرُ﴾
“There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.”
[Ash-Shura: 11]
And Allah knows best.