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Refutations

Can Believers See Allah? Resolving the Alleged Contradiction Between Quran 75:22, 83:15, and 6:103

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Can Believers See Allah? Resolving the Alleged Contradiction in the Quran

Table of Contents

The Doubt Presented

Some skeptics claim there is a contradiction between three Quranic verses. They ask: how can the Quran affirm in one place that believers will see Allah, while denying it in another? They present this alleged contradiction as evidence that the Quran is of human origin.

The Verses Cited as Contradictory

“Some faces, that Day, will be radiant — looking at their Lord.” — Surah Al-Qiyamah 75:22–23
“No! Indeed, from their Lord, that Day, they will be veiled.” — Surah Al-Mutaffifin 83:15
“No vision can grasp Him, but He grasps all vision. He is the Subtle, the Acquainted.” — Surah Al-An’am 6:103
The skeptics argue: Al-Qiyamah affirms that believers will see their Lord; Al-Mutaffifin appears to deny this vision; and Al-An’am categorically states that no vision can grasp Him. They present this as an irreconcilable internal contradiction within the Quran.

First Face of Refutation — Overview

The doubt rests on two misreadings. First, the verse of Al-Mutaffifin (83:15) is speaking specifically about the disbelievers — not all of creation. The fact that the disbelievers are veiled from their Lord on that Day implies by contrast that the believers are not veiled. Second, “No vision can grasp Him” (Al-An’am 6:103) refers to encompassing Allah’s essence — not to the impossibility of seeing Him at all. The absence of comprehensive grasp does not negate the reality of sight.

The Reality of Believers Seeing Allah in the Hereafter

The believers’ vision of their Lord in the Hereafter is an indisputable truth, established by Quranic verses, authentic hadiths, and the consensus of the scholars of Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama’ah. Dr. Abu al-Nur al-Hadidi notes that this is confirmed across multiple texts:

“Some faces, that Day, will be radiant — looking at their Lord.” — Surah Al-Qiyamah 75:22–23
“For those who do good is the best reward and more.” — Surah Yunus 10:26 The scholars explain that “the best” is Paradise, and “more” is the vision of the face of the Noble Lord.
“No! Indeed, from their Lord, that Day, they will be veiled.” — Surah Al-Mutaffifin 83:15 This verse speaks of the disbelievers specifically. The believers, by contrast, are not veiled from their Lord.
On the authority of Suhaib, the Prophet ﷺ said: “When the people of Paradise enter Paradise, Allah will say: Do you want anything more? They will say: Did You not make our faces white? Did You not admit us into Paradise and save us from the Fire? He will say: Then the veil will be lifted, and they will not be given anything more beloved to them than looking at their Lord, the Almighty and Majestic.” — Narrated by Muslim, Book of Faith, Chapter on Proof that Believers Will See Allah in the Hereafter (467)
Some who deny the possibility of seeing Allah rely on the argument that sight depends on rays connecting to the object seen, and requires that the object be in a direction facing the one seeing. The scholars of Ahl al-Sunnah respond that seeing is a power Allah places in His creation — it does not require the connection of rays, nor a fixed direction, nor facing. It is customary for us to see one another through these means, but this is by way of habit, not by way of logical necessity. Just as Allah is not bound by direction, seeing Him is not bound by these conditions. The believers will see Him with no direction assigned to Him, as befits His majesty.
Two erroneous positions arose among those who insisted on the ray-and-direction model of vision. The first group interpreted “looking at their Lord” (Al-Qiyamah 75:23) to mean “waiting for the reward of their Lord” — not physical sight. This interpretation is linguistically baseless: in Arabic, the construction used (nadhara ila) means seeing with the eye, not waiting. Waiting is expressed differently in the language. The second group relied on “No vision can grasp Him” (Al-An’am 6:103) to deny any possibility of sight altogether — which is also a mistake, as will be explained below.

Interpreting “No Vision Can Grasp Him” — Three Aspects

The First Aspect — Denial of Encompassing, Not of Seeing

The perception denied in Al-An’am 6:103 is not sight in general — it is sight that encompasses and fully comprehends the essence of Allah. Just as the creation does not encompass Allah with knowledge (“and they encompass not a thing of His knowledge except for what He wills” — Al-Baqarah 2:255), they do not encompass Him with sight. The verse is comparable to the statement about Pharaoh: “Until, when drowning overtook him” (Yunus 10:90) — meaning it encompassed him from every side. It is well established in logic that the negation of a specific thing (comprehensive grasp) does not entail the negation of the general (any sight whatsoever). Believers will see Allah in the Hereafter, but they will not encompass His essence.

The Second Aspect — Restriction to This World

An alternative reading holds that “No vision can grasp Him” applies specifically to this worldly life, and does not contradict the vision that will be granted to the believers in the Hereafter. Seeing Allah in this world is rationally permissible — everything that exists can theoretically be seen. The fact that Prophet Musa ﷺ asked to see his Lord is itself evidence of the rational permissibility of this vision, since no prophet would ask for something forbidden.

The Third Aspect — General With Specific Meaning

Some scholars hold that the verse — “No vision can grasp Him” — is a general statement that is specified by other evidence. The general meaning is that all visions cannot grasp Him. But this general statement is qualified by what has been established from the Quran, Sunnah, and scholarly consensus: that the believing servants will be granted sight of their Lord in the Hereafter. The general rule yields to the specific proof.

Second Face of Refutation — Did the Prophet See Allah on the Night of Isra

A related question concerns whether the Prophet ﷺ saw Allah during the Night Journey and Ascension. The scholars of the early generations and those who followed them differed on this matter. Judge Iyadh (may Allah have mercy on him) documented this disagreement extensively. Two positions are recorded from the Companions themselves: Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) denied it, while Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) affirmed it.

The Position of Aisha vs Ibn Abbas

Masruq narrated: “I was reclining with Aisha, and she said: O Abu Aisha, there are three things — whoever speaks of one of them has greatly slandered Allah. I said: What are they? She said: Whoever claims that Muhammad ﷺ saw his Lord has greatly slandered Allah.” She then cited two verses: “No vision can grasp Him” (Al-An’am 6:103) and “It is not for a human being that Allah should speak to him except by revelation or from behind a veil or by sending a messenger” (Ash-Shura 42:51). She also denied that the Prophet concealed anything from the Book of Allah, citing Al-Ma’idah 5:67, and denied knowledge of the unseen, citing An-Naml 27:65.* — Narrated by Muslim, Book of Faith (457)
Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) held that the Prophet ﷺ saw his Lord with his eyes. In another narration attributed to him: “He saw Him with his heart twice.” — Narrated by Muslim, Book of Faith (455); see also Sharh Sahih Muslim by Al-Nawawi (3/4)
The position of Aisha and the position of Ibn Abbas represent two recognised scholarly views among the Companions. Neither is dismissed — both are engaged with on the level of evidence and argument.

Al-Nawawi’s Reconciliation and Preference

Al-Nawawi, in his commentary on Sahih Muslim, prefers the view of Ibn Abbas and responds to the two verses Aisha relied upon. He states: “The most correct view according to most scholars is that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ saw his Lord with his own eyes on the night of the Isra’, based on the hadith of Ibn Abbas and others. Proof of this can only be obtained by hearing it from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and this is something that should not be doubted.”

Al-Nawawi then notes a critical methodological point: Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) did not deny the vision on the basis of a direct narration from the Prophet ﷺ. She relied instead on her own deduction from Quranic verses. The answer to each of her arguments is as follows:

As for her use of “No vision can grasp Him” (Al-An’am 6:103): the answer is clear, because “grasping” means encompassing, and Allah cannot be encompassed. The negation of encompassing does not entail the negation of sight without encompassing. As for her use of “It is not for a human being that Allah should speak to him except by revelation or from behind a veil or by sending a messenger” (Ash-Shura 42:51): the answer comes from several angles. First, it is not necessary for sight to be accompanied by speech at the same moment — the vision may have occurred without speech. Second, this verse is a general statement qualified by the specific evidence in favour of the vision. Third, what is meant by “from behind a veil” — as Al-Wahidi and others explained — is that Allah’s speech is heard without the one hearing seeing its source, not that a physical barrier separates one place from another. The reference is to the manner of speech, not to an absolute rule negating vision.

Conclusion

It is established by Sharia and reason that seeing Allah in the Hereafter is a reality that is not disputed among the scholars of Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama’ah. The Quranic verses, the authentic hadiths, and the consensus of the scholars past and present confirm this beyond doubt. The alleged contradiction dissolves entirely upon proper examination. The verse “No vision can grasp Him” (Al-An’am 6:103) has been interpreted by the scholars in three valid ways: it negates comprehensive grasp of the divine essence without negating sight; it is restricted to this worldly life and does not extend to the Hereafter; or it is a general statement qualified by the specific proofs establishing the believers’ vision of Allah. As for the Prophet’s ﷺ vision of Allah on the Night of Isra’ and Mi’raj, the scholars differed. The most likely and most supported opinion is that this vision occurred and is confirmed — and Allah knows best.
“There is nothing like Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing.” — Surah Ash-Shura 42:11

Sources:

  • Al-Bayan fi Daf’ al-Ta’arud al-Mutawahham bayn Ayat al-Quran al-Karim, Dr. Muhammad Abu al-Nur al-Hadidi, Al-Amanah Library, Cairo, 1401 AH/1981 AD.
  • Al-Bayan fi Daf’ al-Ta’arud al-Mutawahham bayn Ayat al-Quran al-Karim, Dr. Atef al-Maliji, Iqra Library, Cairo, 1st ed., 2004 AD.
  • Sahih Muslim, Book of Faith (455, 457, 467).
  • Sharh Sahih Muslim, Al-Nawawi, Book of Faith (3/4).