Bismillah, praise be to Allah and we ask Allah to raise the rank of Prophet Muhammad more and to grant us sincerety,

Allah said in al-Qur’an:

{كَلا إِنَّهُمْ عَنْ رَبِّهِمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ لَمَحْجُوبُونَ}

Here, kalla (كَلاّ) contains the meaning of the strict order to refrain from the sins and disobedience that cause the heart to blacken with scars. Innahum (إِنَّهُمْ) refers to the blasphemers. ^An-rabbihim (عَنْ رَبِّهِمْ) means ‘from seeing their Lord’ as mentioned by the astute scholar, ^Izz ad-Din Ibn ^Abd as-Salam, in his book Al-Isharah Ila al-‘Ijaz. Yawma ‘idhin (يَوْمَئِذٍ) means ‘on the Day of Judgment.’ Lamahjubun (لَمَحْجُبُونَ) means ‘they are indeed prohibited.’ An-Nasafiyy said alhajb (لَحجب ا) is ‘the prohibition.’

The meaning of this ayah, hence, is that on the Day of Judgment, the blasphemers shall indeed be prohibited from seeing their Lord. This ayah degrades the blasphemers and makes it clear that Allah does not accept them.

Al-Bayhaqiyy narrated with his chain of narration to Imam Muhammad Ibn Idris ash-Shafi^iyy that he said about this ayah {كَلا إِنَّهُمْ عَنْ رَبِّهِمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ لَمَحْجُوبُونَ}: ‘ The fact that Allah prohibited them from seeing Him, as a sign that they are not accepted by Him, indicates that those who are accepted by Allah shall see Him.’ These words are extremely beautiful because it is an analogy derived from the meaning of the ayah and is supported by the evidence of the saying of Allah in Surah al-Qiyamah, Ayahs 22 and 23:

{وُجُوهٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ نَاضِرَةٌ(22)إِلَى رَبِّهَا نَاظِرَةٌ(23)}

These ayas mean: [On the Day of Judgment the beautiful faces of the believers–those accepted by Allah–shall be looking at their Lord.] Also al-Bayhaqiyy in his Siyar reported his chain of narration up to Sufyan Ibn ^Uyaynah that he said about the ayah

{كَلا إِنَّهُمْ عَنْ رَبِّهِمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ لَمَحْجُوبُونَ}:

‘If both the righteous and the blasphemers had been veiled from seeing Allah, then what merit would the righteous have over the blasphemers?’ It was reported in the same book (Siyar) that a person asked Imam Malik Ibn Anas,

“O Abu ^Abdullah, do the ayahs {وُجُوهٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ نَاضِرَةٌ (22) إِلَى رَبِّهَا نَاظِرَةٌ (23)} (Surah al-Qiyamah) mean that the believers will look at Allah?”

He said, “Yes, with these eyes.”

I said, “Some people say nadhirah (نَاظِرَةٌ) in ayah 23 means ‘awaiting the reward from Allah’.”

Imam Malik replied, “No, it means seeing Allah. Have you not heard what Musa said as mentioned in Surah al-^Araf, 143 {رَبِّ أَرِنِي أَنْظُرْ إِلَيْكَ}? (This means: [O Allah, allow me to see you.]. Do you think he would have asked Allah for an impossible matter? Allah said {لَنْ تَرَانِي}which means [You will not see Me,] i.e., in this world which is going to annihilate, however, once they get to the abode of perpetuity they shall look with their everlasting eyes at Allah Who is Everlasting. Allah said :{كَلا إِنَّهُمْ عَنْ رَبِّهِمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ لَمَحْجُوبُونَ(15)} Al-Mutaffifin.“

The scholars who lived within three hundred years after the immigration of the Prophet (salaf) and those who lived after them (khalaf) have held mutual consent on the belief of seeing Allah, the Exalted, with the eyes in the Hereafter. And that it is exclusive for the believers who shall see Him while they are in Paradise. They will see Him without a manner of being, without likening Him to the creation, and without a direction. Imam Abu Hanifah an-Nu^man Ibn Thabit, may Allah raises his rank, in his books Al-Wasiyyah and Al-Fiqh Al-Akbar said:

(ولقاء الله تعالى لأهل الجنة حق بلا كيفية ولا تشبيه ولا جهة يراه المؤمنون وهم فى الجنة بأعين رؤسهم ولا يكون بينه و بين خلقه مسافة، وليس قرب الله تعالى ولا بعده من طريق طول المسافة وقصرها ولكن على معنى الكرامة والهوان والمطيع قريب منه تعالى بلا كيف والعاصى بعيد منه بلا كيف وكذلك الرؤية فى الاخرة بلا كيف)

This means: (The people of Paradise shall truly see Allah without a manner of being, resemblance or direction. The believers shall see Him while they are in Paradise with their eyes without a distance between Him and them. The proximity to and farthness from Allah DO NOT pertain to the length or shortness of distance, rather, it is a meaning pertaining to highness and lowness of status. The obedient person is close to Allah without a manner of being, and the sinful person is far from Allah without a manner of being. Likewise seeing Allah in the hereafter is without a manner of being.)

Abu Hanifah’s statement elucidates that Allah will not be in a direction or a place, whereas the people of Paradise will be in their locations in Paradise. They will see Him without doubting that it is He whom they have seen, just as the person looking at the full moon on a clear night does not doubt that what he sees is the moon. This meaning was reflected in the saying of the Messenger of Allah that was narrated by al-Bukhariyy:

<<إنكم سترون ربكم يوم القيامه كما ترون القمر ليلة البدر لا تضامّون في رؤيته>>

which means: <>.

Al-Bayhaqiyy said he heard Imam Abu at-Tayyib Sahl Ibn Muhammad as-Su^lukiyy say in his book Al-Imla’ about the saying of the Prophet: <<لا تُضامّون في رؤيته>> (with a dammah on the ta’ (تُ) and shaddah on the mim (مّ) of تُضامّون) ) that it means ‘you shall not throng and cling together.’ The meaning is also the same when using a fathah on the ta’ (تَ). In such case, the root word would be tatadammun (تَتَضامُّون). However, if one uses a dammah on the ta (تُ) and a single mim (مُ), the root of the word would be ad-daym (الضَّيم) which means ‘you shall not face any injustice’ in that some will see Him and some will not. Rather all of you (the believers) shall see Him while you are in your direction and He is clear of directions. The similitude with seeing the full moon is not to liken the Creator to the moon, for Allah is clear from that. (End of the words of Abu at-Tayyib).

The reason the Messenger of Allah drew a similitude between the believers seeing the full moon on a clear night and their seeing Allah in the Hereafter was to eliminate the element of doubt.

In one of the narrations of the hadith by al-Bukhariyy, the term la tudarun (لا تُضارُون) was pronounced with a single ra’ (رُ), and in Muslim’s narration, the term la tudarrun (لا تُضاروُّن) was pronounced with doubling the ra‘ (رُّ). The author of Lisan Al-^Arab reported that Abu Mansur said that the root of the first is ad-dayr (الضَّيْر) and the second is ad-durr (الضُّر); and both mean the same thing–without you hurting one another attempting to see Allah alone, i.e., all to yourself without the others. It was said also the meaning is without disputing and ending up belying one another about seeing Allah.

The importance of this rather lengthy explanation is to present the reader with ample refutation to the Qadariyyah–those who deny the Qadar (Destining of Allah). The Prophet described them as the majus of this nation. The Qadariyyah deny that the believers will see Allah on the Day of Judgment.

In his Tafsir, Az-Zamakhshariyy, who belongs to the misguided school of the Mu^tazilah, displayed impoliteness with the Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, (in addition to other abhorrent matters). The renowned, great Imam, Abu Hayyan al-Andalusiyy, (in his famous Tafsir, Al-Bahr Al-Muhit, in the Chapter on Surah An-Naml) warned against az-Zamakhshariyy’s Tafsir. In verses of his poetry, highlighting straying of az-Zamakhshariyy, Abu Hayyan said that az-Zamakhshariyy: (1) out of ignorance confirms fabricated hadiths, (2) attributes to the impeccable Prophet that which is non befitting, and (3) twists the terms around to support the ill-school of the Mu^tazilah. Abu Hayyan meant that az-Zamakhshariyy was one of the Mu^tazilah and a proud, outspoken advocate of that school. Strangely enough, some people who consider themselves Sunni use az-Zamakhshariyy’s Tafsir while ignoring the warning of Abu Hayyan.