On the belief that the Prophet (Allah magnify him and protect him from
imperfection) saw his Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He) with his ordinary
eyes on the night of his Heavenly Journey [Laylat al-Israa']

From Al-Ghawth al-A`zam, Sultan-ul-Awliyaa, Sayyidunaa Shaykh Muhyuddin `Abdul-
Qaadir al-Jeelani al-Hasani al-Husayni [Radiallahu`anhu]’s Al-Ghunyatu li Taalibi
Tareeq il Haqq [Tr. M. Holland]:

We believe that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) saw his Lord (Almighty and
Glorious is He) with his ordinary eyes1 on the night of his Heavenly Journey [Laylat al-Israa'], not
with his heart [fu’aad],2 and not in a dream.
Traditional authority for this belief is to be found in the report of Jabir ibn 'Abdi'llah (may Allah be
well pleased with him), according to whose account Allah's Messenger (Allah bless him and give
him peace) once said, in explanation of His words (Exalted is He): "And indeed, he saw Him yet
another time [wa la-qad ra'ahu nazlatan ukhraa]" (53:13);

I saw my Lord (Glorified be His Name) at close quarters [mushaafahatan]; there can be
no doubt about it.

He also said, in explanation of His words (Exalted is He): "By the Lote-Tree of the farthest
boundary [`inda sidrati'l-muntahaa]" (53:15):

I saw Him by the Lote-Tree of the farthest boundary, so that the light of His
countenance was clearly visible to me. [Tafseer Al-Durr al-Manthoor 8:648-649]

Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be well pleased with him and with his father) once said, in explanation of
His words (Exalted is He):
And We granted the vision that We showed you only as a temptation for mankind. (17:60)

'This refers to a direct eye-vision [ru'yaa `ayn], which the Prophet [Allah bless him and
give him peace) was shown on the night when he was taken on his Heavenly Journey
[israa’]"


Ibn `Abbas (may Allah be well pleased with him and with his father) also said:

"The intimate friendship [of his Lord] is the special gift of Abraham [al-khullatu li-Ibraheem]
(peace be upon him), conversation [with his Lord] is the special gift of Moosaa [al-kalam li-Musa]
(peace be upon him), and the direct vision [of his Lord] is the special gift of Muhammad
[ar-ru'ya li-Muhammad] (Allah bless him and give him peace)."

According to yet another saying attributed to Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be well pleased with him
and with his father): "Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace) saw his Lord
with his own eyes on two occasions."[Muslim- 176]

This is not cancelled out by the contradictory report handed down on the authority of `Aa'ishah
(may Allah be well pleased with her)[Muslim-177], because the latter is a negative statement
[nafy], whereas this statement [by Ibn 'Abbas] is a positive affirmation [ithbat] and, as such, it
must take precedence when found in conjunction [with its negative counterpart], especially since
the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) has himself attested to the reality of his
vision.

Abu Bakr ibn Sulaiman has said: "Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace) saw his
Lord eleven times. Nine of these eleven visions are recorded in the Sunnah [traditional
accounts of the life of the Prophet (Allah hless him and give him peace)] as having
occurred on the night of the Heavenly Ascension [lailat al-Mi'raj], when he was going to
and fro between Moosaa (peace be upon him) and his Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He),
beseeching Him to lighten the burden of ritual prayer [salat] imposed upon his Community
[Ummat], until that burden was reduced by forty-five prayers, in nine stages. The other
two occasions are mentioned in the Book [the Qur'an]."

1 Literally, 'with the eyes of his head' [bi`aynay ra'sih].

2 An allusion to Qur'an) 53:11 "The heart [fu’aad] in no way falsified what he saw," As 'A.Yusuf
`Ali points out, in footnote 5091 to his translation of the Qur'an; '"Heart' in Arabic includes the
faculty of intelligence as well as the faculty of feeling."