Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
The fatwa establishes that the believers will see Allah Almighty on the Day of Resurrection, just as they will see Him in Paradise, and that seeing Allah in Paradise will be more complete, greater, and more delightful because it will be a vision of honor and everlasting bliss. As for the vision at the place of reckoning, it will occur in a situation of judgment, awe, and testing.
There is no contradiction between the two, because the nature of the vision may differ according to the situation and condition, while believing in it without discussing how it occurs.
Allah Almighty says:
“On that Day some faces will be radiant, looking at their Lord.”
[Al-Qiyāmah: 22–23]
It is authentically reported that the Prophet ﷺ said:
“When the people of Paradise enter Paradise... He will remove the veil, and they will not have been given anything more beloved to them than looking at their Lord, Mighty and Majestic.”
Narrated by Muslim.
Thus, looking at Allah in Paradise is among the greatest gifts granted to its inhabitants. Indeed, it is their highest and most complete delight.
The fatwa states that authentic hadiths also indicate that Allah Almighty will be seen at the gathering place on the Day of Resurrection.
In the hadith of Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him), the Companions asked the Prophet ﷺ:
“O Messenger of Allah, will we see our Lord on the Day of Resurrection?”
He replied:
“Do you have any difficulty seeing the sun and the moon when the sky is clear?”
They said: No.
He then said:
“You will have no difficulty seeing your Lord on that Day...”
Narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim.
The hadith then mentions events that will take place at the standing on the Day of Resurrection, including Allah coming to His servants, the believers recognizing Him, and what will occur regarding prostration.
The occurrence of a vision at the place of reckoning does not mean that it must be identical in every respect to the vision in Paradise.
The fatwa distinguishes between the two situations:
At the place of reckoning, the situation is one of awe, waiting, judgment, and testing. It is not a state of settled and permanent bliss.
In Paradise, however, the vision occurs in the abode of honor and bliss. Fear and reckoning have ended, and the people of Paradise are in the most complete state of happiness and security.
For this reason, the fatwa cites Ibn Taymiyyah as explaining that types of vision may differ greatly and that what occurs at the place of reckoning does not necessarily belong to the same category as the special and complete vision with which the believers will be blessed in Paradise.
No.
Allah Almighty says:
“Vision does not encompass Him, but He encompasses all vision. And He is the Most Subtle, the All-Aware.”
[Al-An‘ām: 103]
The negation of encompassing perception does not necessarily mean the negation of seeing altogether.
A person may see something without encompassing it completely in knowledge or vision from every aspect.
Therefore, according to what the fatwa establishes, the believers will truly see Allah, but they will not encompass Him. Allah is too Great and Majestic for vision to encompass Him.
In the hadith of Abu Sa‘id (may Allah be pleased with him), the believers say that there is a sign between them and their Lord by which they will recognize Him. The Prophet ﷺ then said:
“Then He will uncover His Shin, and every believer will prostrate before Him...”
Narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim.
According to the fatwa, what is mentioned in the hadith is believed as it has been reported, without likening Allah to His creation, without asking how, and without attempting to imagine the manner of the attribute.
The purpose is not to enter into details concerning its form or manner, because these are matters of the unseen that Allah has not disclosed to people.
This expression enters into questions of modality and limitation, which the fatwa warns against.
What has been established is that Allah Almighty will be seen, and this is sufficient in matters of faith.
As for asking whether a person will see “the entire Essence,” what the limits of the vision will be, or how much of Allah’s Essence will be seen, these are details for which no revealed text has been given. Delving into them is an unnecessary burden concerning a matter of the unseen.
One should therefore stop where revelation stops and not attempt to turn the vision of the Hereafter into something analogous to vision in this worldly life.
Matters of the unseen are known through truthful revelation, not merely by comparing them with what we know in this world.
The fatwa cites Ibn Rajab as stating that one form of prohibited over-inquiry is investigating the manner of unseen matters that we have been commanded to believe in but whose modality has not been explained to us.
What is required is to affirm what has been established and remain silent about what Allah has not informed us of.
According to what the hadiths indicate, the believers will see Allah Almighty on the Day of Resurrection and will then see Him in Paradise with a vision that is more complete, greater, and more delightful. This is among the highest delights of the people of Paradise.
There is no contradiction between the two visions. The vision at the place of reckoning occurs in a situation of awe and testing, while the vision in Paradise is a vision of honor and everlasting bliss.
Seeing Allah also does not mean encompassing Him. One should not unnecessarily speculate about how the vision occurs or how much of Allah’s Essence a person sees. Rather, one must believe what has been reported in the revealed texts while declaring Allah free from any resemblance to His creation.
And Allah knows best.