Is it possible for a person to see Allah in his dream? If yes, how should it be understood?

Dear Brother / Sister,

The issue of seeing Allah in a dream is a debatable issue among scholars.

Abu Hanifa states that Allah can be seen in a dream but Imam Maturidi states that He cannot be seen. It is stated in hadiths that the Prophet (pbuh) saw Allah Almighty in his dream. (Aqaid, Umar Nasafi; Taftazani, Sharhul-Aqaid, p, 134)

According to the majority of scholars it is possible to see Allah in a dream. It is natural that Allah is seen with manifestation of His attributes and names, not in person.

The following statement exists in the narrations reported by Tirmidhi: “I saw my Lord in the best shape.” (see Tirmidhi, Tafsir, 39)

- The following point is unanimously agreed by scholars when the hadith above is interpreted: “It is necessary to act based on the fact that Allah does not resemble any creatures and that no shape can be attributed to Him.”

Therefore, some hadith scholars avoided explaining that hadith and said the hadith was an ambiguous hadith that our minds cannot understand.

The scholars who preferred to explain the hadith interpreted it in a way that is not contrary to Ahl as-Sunnah creed. The summary of those interpretations are as follows:

a. The meaning of the statement “I saw my Lord in the best shape” is as follows: “I saw my Lord when I was in the best shape by receiving His great grace.”

b. “I saw my Lord in the best shape” means “I saw the manifestations of His attributes, His grace and grants perfectly, in endless beauty and unique generosity.”

c. What is meant by “I saw my Lord in the best shape” is as follows: “I saw my Lord’s grace and treats in a way that I had never seen before, His spiritual, endless majesty, perfection and beauty.”(see Tuhfatul-Ahwazi, the explanation of the hadith in question)

However, it is probably the safest way to refer the meaning of such ambiguous hadiths to Allah and His Messenger.

For the other narrations regarding the issue see

Tirmidhi, Tafsir:39, No:3235, 5/368; Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, No:16621, 5/584; Ajuri, ash-Shari'a, No:1009, Sh.397; Hakim al-Mustadrak, No:1912-13, 1/702; Hatib, Tarikhu Baghdad, No:4253, 8/146; Ibn Khuzaymah, at-Tawhid, No:321, 2/542; Abu Ya'la, Musnad, No:2608, 4/475; Darimi, Ru'ya:12, No:2073, 1/567; Hatib Tabrizi, Mishqatul-Masabih, No:725,26,1/230; Ali al-Muttaqi, Kanzul-Ummal, No: 1152-54, 1/228.

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