Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
There is no explicit text in the Qur’an or authentic Sunnah proving that Jibril, peace be upon him, or any other angel saw Allah Almighty in this world. Likewise, there is no explicit text stating that none of them saw Him. Therefore, scholars differed on this issue, and the sound approach is to withhold judgment and not definitively affirm or deny such a vision without evidence.
In the hadith of the Mi‘raj, it is authentically established that the Prophet ﷺ was taken up through the lofty levels of the heavens and reached a place where he heard the scratching of the pens.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Then I was taken up until I reached a level where I could hear the scratching of the pens.”
[Narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim]
However, this hadith does not state that Jibril, peace be upon him, saw Allah Almighty at that place, nor does this narration establish that the Prophet ﷺ saw Him there.
Merely reaching a lofty rank or being near a high station is not sufficient evidence to establish seeing Allah.
Because the revealed texts do not explicitly settle it.
Some scholars denied that the angels see Allah in this world, while others affirmed such a possibility for some of them.
Ibn Hajar al-Haytami (may Allah have mercy on him) reported that al-‘Izz ibn ‘Abd al-Salam and those who agreed with him held that the angels do not see Him, while it was reported from Abu al-Hasan al-Ash‘ari, al-Bayhaqi, and others that they considered it possible that angels may see Allah or that this may have occurred for some of them.
For this reason, when Shaykh Ibn Baz (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked whether the angels see their Lord in this world, he replied:
“Allah knows best.”
This reflects the nature of the issue, for it concerns the unseen, and one should not speak decisively about the unseen without textual evidence.
Allah says:
“Those who carry the Throne and those around it glorify their Lord with praise and believe in Him.”
[Ghafir 40:7]
Some people may think that the words “and believe in Him” indicate that they have not seen Him, because faith relates to the unseen.
However, this inference is not necessary.
Seeing something does not negate faith in it. Rather, in a matter that has been seen, it may move a person from faith in the unseen to faith based upon direct witnessing.
For this reason, Ibrahim (Abraham), peace be upon him, was already a believer before Allah showed him how He gives life to the dead, and then his heart increased in reassurance and certainty. Allah says:
“He said, ‘Do you not believe?’ He said, ‘Yes, but only so that my heart may be reassured.’”
[Al-Baqarah 2:260]
Likewise, Musa (Moses), peace be upon him, was spoken to by Allah, and he remained a believer in Him.
Therefore, Allah’s statement that the angels “believe in Him” neither proves that they saw Him nor rules out the possibility that some of them did.
No.
The fact that some angels carry the Throne or are around it does not by itself prove that they see Allah, Glorified and Exalted.
Allah says:
“Those who carry the Throne and those around it...”
[Ghafir 40:7]
But nearness and high rank are one matter, while establishing the vision of Allah is another matter that requires separate evidence.
In matters of the unseen, it is not correct to move from a rational possibility to a definite belief without evidence.
In terms of possibility, there is no revealed text establishing that this is impossible.
For this reason, some scholars held that it is possible that certain angels may have seen Allah, especially the angels brought near to Him, while others refrained from affirming or denying it.
However, since there is no clear and authentic evidence settling the issue, we should not say with certainty that they saw Him, nor should we say with certainty that they did not.
The principle regarding matters of the unseen is that we affirm what revelation affirms, deny what revelation denies, and withhold judgment regarding what has not been addressed by a clear text.
Allah says:
“Do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge.”
[Al-Isra 17:36]
Therefore, it is better not to build a detailed belief concerning whether Jibril or any other angel saw Allah in this world without evidence.
There is no explicit text in the Qur’an or authentic Sunnah proving that Jibril, peace be upon him, or any other angel saw Allah Almighty in this world, nor is there an explicit text denying such a vision for all angels.
Scholars have differed on this issue. Therefore, the safer and sounder approach is to withhold judgment, and not make a definite claim about something for which no evidence has been established.
As for Allah’s statement that the angels “believe in Him,” this alone does not prove that they have not seen Him, because faith does not contradict vision.
And Allah knows best.