Praise be to Allah.
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Evidence in the Qur’an and Sunnah points to the fact that Allah is above the heavens, seated on the Throne in a manner that befits His Majesty and Greatness. Allah says in the Qur’an (interpretation of the meaning):
"The Most Beneficent istawaa (rose over) the (Mighty) Throne (in a manner that suits His majesty)." [Ta-Ha 20:5] (For more information, please see question #992 ).
As for meeting Allah and seeing Him: meeting Him occurs after death and on the Day of Judgement; seeing Him will occur only on the Day of Judgement. Concerning the meeting with Allah after death, Imam al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) reported in his Saheeh, in the chapter on "whoever loves to meet Allah, Allah loves to meet him":
From ‘Ubadah ibn al-Samit, from Rasulullah SAW who said: "Whoever loves to meet Allah, Allah will love to meet him, and whoever hates to meet Allah, Allah will hate to meet him." ‘Aishah or one of his wives said: "But we all dislike the idea of death." He said, "It is not what you are thinking. When death approaches the believer and he is given the news of Allah’s pleasure and honour, nothing will be more dear to him than what lies ahead of him, so he will love to meet Allah and Allah will love to meet him. But when death approaches the disbeliever and he is given the news of Allah’s wrath and punishment, nothing will be more disliked by him that what lies ahead of him, so he will hate to meet Allah and Allah will hate to meet him." (Saheeh al-Bukhaari, 6026).
The words "nothing will be more dear to him than what lies ahead of him" refer to what he will go through after death. Muslim and al-Nisaa’i report that Shurayh ibn Haani’ said: "I said to ‘Aishah: ‘I have heard a hadeeth which, if it is as I heard it, means that we are doomed. The hadeeth says: "There is not one of us who does not dislike death."’ She said: ‘It is not what you think. What it means is when a person’s eyes stare without blinking, when the death rattle is in his chest and his skin and muscles contract.’ This is the state of one who is dying.
"Al-Khattabi said: "There are different types of meeting: it may mean seeing with one’s own eyes, or it may mean resurrection, as Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):‘They indeed are losers who denied their meeting with Allah…’ [al-An’aam 6:31]; or it may mean death, as Allah says: (interpretation of the meaning): ‘Whoever hopes for the Meeting with Allah, then Allah’s term is surely coming…’ [al-‘Ankaboot 29:5] and ‘Say (to them): Verily, the death from which you flee will surely meet you…’ [al-Jumu’ah 62:8]"
The meeting with Allah (mentioned in the hadeeth quoted above) refers to something other than death, because in another hadeeth of Rasulullah SAW said, "Death is a barrier between us and the meeting with Allah." But when death is the means of meeting Allah, it is described as the meeting with Allah. Imam Abu ‘Ubayd al-Qaasim ibn Salaam said: "The hadeeth does not refer to a dislike of death and the suffering involved, because everybody feels this way. What is being criticized here is a love and preference for this world and a dislike of the idea of moving on to Allah and the Hereafter. This is explained by the fact that Allah condemned people who love this life, and said (interpretation of the meaning): ‘… those who hope not for their meeting with Us, but are pleased and satisfied with the life of the present world…’ [Yoonus 10:7]."
Al-Nawawi said: "The meaning of the hadeeth is that the like and dislike referred to are those that occur at the time of death, at the stage when repentance is no longer acceptable, when the dying person is shown where he is headed. There is also some discussion in the hadeeth about the dislike of death. Whoever dislikes death because he prefers this life to the blessings of the Hereafter is condemned. Whoever dislikes death because he fears being brought to account for his shortcomings, lack of preparation and failure to carry out the commands of Allah properly, is not to blame in this case. The one who feels this way should hasten to prepare himself so that when death comes to him he will not dislike it but will love it because of the meeting with Allah which he is hoping for after death.
The hadeeth quoted above also indicates that no living person will see Allah in this life, but that the believers will see Him after death, as Rasulullah SAW said: "Death is a barrier between us and the meeting with Allah." This fact is stated even more clearly in another hadeeth narrated by Muslim from Abu Umaamah, in which Rasulullah SAW says: "Know that you will not see your Lord until you die." The meeting with Allah and seeing Him on the Day of Judgement is proven in many texts, such as the ayah (interpretation of the meaning):
"Some faces that Day will be naadirah (shining and radiant), looking at their Lord." [al-Qiyaamah 75:22-23] Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the people said, "O Messenger of Allah, will we see our Lord on the Day of Resurrection?" He said, "Do you have any doubts about seeing the full moon on a cloudless night?" They said, "No." He said, "Do you have any doubts about seeing the sun on a cloudless day?" They said, "No." He said, "Then you will see your Lord in the same way." (Reported by al-Bukhaari, 764). We ask Allah to let us meet Him when He is pleased with us. May Allah bless our Rasulullah SAW.
