The Vision of Allah in the Afterlife
“Glory be to Him (Allah)! His
greatness surpasses all that they (meaning the people – the disbelievers, the
idolaters) describe. He is the Creator of the heavens and the earth from
nothing. How then could He have a child when He does not have a spouse? He has
created everything and knows all. That is Allah, your Lord. There is no deity
besides Him. He is the Creator of all things; therefore, worship Him. He is in
charge of everything. The eyes cannot perceive Him, yet He perceives all eyes.
He is kind to us and fully aware of everything.”
(Al-Anam, 6: 102-105)
The human mind’s conception and perception of Allah are very limited. The intellect cannot fathom the true nature of His existence. Allah is Omniscient, and Omnipresent, meaning He is everywhere, and He hears and knows everything. Nothing escapes His knowledge. One may attempt to conceal oneself, but no one can ever hide from Allah.
The struggle of non-believers to accept that
Allah is one supreme Being, the sole Creator lead them to associate partners
with Him in worship or to outrightly deny His existence, choosing instead to
believe in false gods created by their imagination or influenced by Satan – believers,
on the other hand, have Yaqeen (Certitude/ Certainty) in the existence
of one God. They strive to spread the light of Tawheed (the Oneness of
Allah) across the world until this message reaches all.
With Yaqeen (Certainty) in Allah’s
existence, a longing arises within a believer’s heart to see Him. However,
Allah has not granted anyone permission to behold Him in His true form in this
worldly life. Many prophets, such as Hazrat Nuh, Ibrahim, Idris, and Hazrat
Musa (as), wished to see Allah in His real essence, yet none received
permission. Even our beloved Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) was not shown Allah’s
true nature.
The reason is that our physical and even
spiritual sight remains limited while we exist on this earth. However, the
moment we taste death, the veil is lifted, and Allah will reveal Himself to
those whom He has reserved Paradise for – the ones who loved Him with all their
being, sacrificed so much for His sake, and whose thirst for Him cannot be
quenched until He appears before them and graces them with His presence and
countenance, His beautiful face.
When I talk about “face” [the face of Allah] here,
it is subjective and metaphorical because the way Allah will reveal Himself to
us is beyond what we can imagine.
In the Quran, Allah tells us that in the hereafter,
people will be divided into two groups: those destined for Paradise and those
condemned to Hell. We must remember that Allah’s concept of time is different
from that of humans. What we perceive as thousands of years passing since the
creation of Adam is entirely different from Allah’s perception of time. As
Allah says, when He commands “Kun” (Exist!), something appears instantly. Allah’s
“Kun” is incredibly fast – it can happen immediately, spontaneously or it may
manifest after some time according to human calculations. This means there is a
difference in how time is measured.
After a long period in Hell, the souls who have
been there will eventually be granted entry into Paradise. While they may not
reach the higher levels of Paradise, they will at least be saved from Hell.
This is because Hell acts like a hospital or a purification place that burns
away the impurities that the souls/ essences – both human and jinn – accumulate
on Earth. Then, a time will come when Allah will forgive them after they have
been completely purified. But this will happen much later.
Those destined for Paradise will experience
blessings beyond human comprehension – so vast that they cannot be counted. In
a Hadith Qudsi, Allah says: “I have prepared for My righteous servants
things no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no heart has imagined.”
(Bukhari, Muslim).
When people enter Paradise, they will hear an
announcement: “You will always be healthy and never fall ill. You will live
forever without dying. You will remain young and never grow old. You will enjoy
blessings and never experience sorrow.” (Muslim). Allah confirms this in
the Quran: “This is the Paradise that has been
given to you as an inheritance for what you have done (in righteousness).”
(Al-Araf,7: 44).
According to Allah and His Messenger, Hazrat
Muhammad (pbuh), Paradise will be full of beautiful gardens, rivers of pure
water and honey, and meals served in golden dishes. People will drink from
precious cups and wear luxurious clothing. Anything they desire will be granted
by Allah’s permission. But despite these incredible rewards, the greatest
blessing for believers will be the chance to see Allah in Paradise.
As I mentioned at the start, this is the
highest hope and ultimate reward a believer can receive – to see Allah. This concept
is supported by the Quran and Hadith.
Allah says: “For
those who do good, there will be the best reward and even more.” (Yunus, 10: 27).
The companions of Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh), such
as Abu Bakr As-Siddiq (ra) and Abdullah Ibn Abbas (ra), interpreted “even
more” as the vision of Allah in Paradise.
In Surah Al-Qiyama (75: 22-23), Allah describes
the Day of Judgement as the time when everyone will stand before Him: “That day, some faces will shine as they gaze upon their
Lord.” This shows that the existence, supremacy, and radiant beauty
of Allah will be revealed to the believers – those whom Allah has shown mercy.
They will have the honour of seeing Him and recognizing His kindness and
forgiveness. Their eyes will be filled with joy when they see their Lord, and
this vision will become even more profound and complete in Paradise.
In a Hadith reported by Suhayb (ra), the Holy
Prophet (pbuh) said: “When the inhabitants of Paradise enter Paradise, Allah
will ask them: ‘Do you wish that I grant you something more than this?’ They
will reply: ‘Have You not already brightened our faces, admitted us into
Paradise, and saved us from the Fire?’ Then, Allah will remove the veil, and
they will see Him. Nothing will be more delightful than gazing upon their Lord.”
(Muslim)
Abu Huraira (ra) also reported that the Holy
Prophet (pbuh) said: “You will see your Lord just as you see the full moon,
without any difficulty.” (Bukhari and Muslim)
Thus, in order to attain the privilege of
entering Paradise and beholding Allah, it is essential for a person to remain
steadfast in their Salat (prayers) and never abandon the commandments of
Allah. Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) said: “You will see your Lord just as you see
the full moon. Therefore, do not neglect your prayers before sunrise and before
sunset.” (Bukhari, Muslim). That is to say, never miss your Fajr and Asr
prayers in particular, along with all five obligatory prayers. Whatever Allah
commands should be done must be carried out, and whatever Allah forbids must be
avoided. Moreover, whenever Allah sends His guides, reformers, prophets, and
messengers, a true lover of Allah should never reject these chosen ones, but
rather follow them – each of them in his respective era – for they bear the
divine essence and remain connected to Allah through Ruh’il Quddus
(divine revelation).
O my disciples, my brothers, sisters, and
children of the Ummah, do what Allah has commanded you to do and do not
approach His wrath. Maintain yourselves on the Right Path and you will see
Allah. Insha-Allah. Do not say things which you do not know on a
Messenger of Allah – an Elect of Allah – and do not make negative comments on
the Divine Manifestation. If you are ignorant of some truths, it is better for
you to remain silent and restrain yourselves from making comments. If the
Messenger of Allah – this humble self – is false, then it is Allah who shall
seize him. His consequences with Allah will be grievous.
So, if today the Ummah is suffering that much,
it is because they have held fast to the deviating practices of their ancestors
who drifted away from the true faith (Iman). And now, the new
generations think that some practices that have entered Islam as forming part
of Islam (when it is not so). They have forgotten the true teachings of Islam.
They have turned its teachings to dust. It is essentially for this reason that
Allah has sent His Messenger with His Divine Manifestation and revelations and
when he comes, he goes through all kinds of persecutions, trials and difficulties;
he also faces all kinds of mockeries. Moreover, they hatch plots to exterminate
the Messenger of Allah and the mission which He has entrusted to him.
So, if the Ummah is going through hurdles of
all kinds, it is because of those kinds of mentality (thought-process) and
beliefs held by some people of the Ummah. When Allah has sent His reformers
(Mujaddid), and sent the Promised Messiah Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) as
well, history bears witness what these kinds of people have done. They are
still holding dear the belief that Hazrat Isa (as) is still alive in the
heavens with his earthly body and that he will personally come back to earth.
They are now affirming also that more prophets are still alive in the heavens,
like Hazrat Isa (as), such as: Hazrat Yahya (as), Hazrat Ayub (as) and Hazrat
Dhul Kifl (as) – four in all. They have fallen low. Now, they are not waiting
for only one prophet from the heavens but four! They claim they will descend in
four different places.
When the true Manifestation from Allah is
bestowed upon them, the real belief, whereby Allah sends to them His Messengers
and message to illumine their way, to lead them on the Path of the true faith,
to give them the right arguments in favour of the true faith, they deviate from
the Right Path, rejecting the truth. They prefer to stick to the deviating and
innovative practices of their ancestors (Bidat) and persist in following
those unislamic practices. So, you see, despite praying to one same Allah, then
why are we suffering like this? This is because of all those unislamic
practices and innovations not approved by Allah, which takes the people far
away from the very foundation of Tawheed (Unity of Allah). It is like
someone coming to add poison to a glass or jar of pure milk.
This means that this Deen (religion) is
foundationally pure, but it is through all those unislamic innovations and
practices – Khatam, Chalisma, Mawlud, Dargah worship, etc. – that the Muslims
have deviated from the purity of Islam. Allah is angry about this and shaking
them (through all kinds of trials) to make them understand, but they persist in
their deviation. We are much aggrieved when the Divine chastisement overcome
the Ummah, but when Allah’s mercy overcome His own wrath and He sends to the
Ummah (and mankind as a whole) His Messenger, the people give him the lie and
ridicule him. They establish sanctions such as boycotts, and all sorts of evil
plans to end his mission [and I have personally lived and witnessed this, how those
people send letters of insult to restrict the divine mission] but despite this,
by His immense grace, Allah is carrying this divine mission forward in the four
corners of the world.
The divine machinery is at work. We do not wish
any evil or punishment to befall the Ummah or the people who have harmed the
Divine mission or mocked the Messenger of Allah, but when they utter really
heart-wrenching words against the Messenger of Allah, this is really upsetting,
but then Allah supports His Messenger and the divine mission He trusted him
with, and make this mission reach far and wide.
Basically, those who truly believe in Allah and
His Messenger, they will follow him, the divinely-raised guide, the divine
light sent to them to remove them from all kinds of darkness.
[For example, yesterday, when we were revising
the Al-Azim Tafsir’ul Quran, more explanations came whereby Allah is making
this humble self understand about His verse about the creation of day and
night. The interpretation is vast. Day is not just day, and night is not just
night, but also the time of distress and hopelessness when the world is
deprived of true guidance, and whereby Allah removes that darkness little by
little, like the night recedes to make place for the day, and He sends His
Messenger with His Divine Light to illumine you (the Muslim Ummah and entire
humanity). Alhamdulillah, we thank Allah for giving this enlightenment
and helping us to include it in the explanation of this verse for the Tafsir
(commentary of the Holy Quran). We are working hard to assemble those
explanations in a clear and comprehensible way so that the message may be
understandable to everyone and that this may touch the hearts of each one of
you. Maybe today, you are not seeing the importance of those commentaries – the
Al-Azim Tafsir’ul Quran – but the day shall come when there will be a spiritual
revolution when those people will awake from their spiritual sleep and seek the
Messenger of Allah, the one who (presently) receives the Ruh’il Quddus
(Holy Spirit) and has brought to writing such a Tafsir (commentary of
the Holy Quran) but alas, they will not be able to meet him (i.e. this humble
self).
Despite the Tafsir being presently translated
in several languages, but it is a regrettable circumstance that those present
today are not taking advantage of this blessing, especially not taking to heart
about being regular for the Dars’ul Quran and the Al-Azim Tafsir’ul Quran.]
Nowadays, in the world, despite the divine
light trying to invade the hearts of those people who deviated to darkness,
they are refusing to let it in them, refusing to understand because they think
that this temporal world is their only refuge. They are fighting as if they
will live eternally on earth. They are fighting to acquire power, territories,
not hesitating to kill innocent lives to quench their thirst for their vicious
desires. We see how world leaders don’t hesitate to defraud their countries of
money in millions or even billions. Today, one may be a minister, and tomorrow,
they may become a prisoner, being the subject of insult and humiliation due to
the corruption they indulged in.
All this is food for thought for each member of
humanity. One should reflect about the flimsiness of this world, its fleeting
nature. This world is only a transitory world, whereby with each passing day, a
person is brought nearer to their tomb (in death). Life as well as death is
unpredictable. One may be well at one point, then suddenly feels unwell and
dies. Are there people pondering over all this? Life is unpredictable. One may
be well, then meets with an accident and dies. There are many ways through which
someone meets their death: accident, drowning, sickness, etc. – all will meet
their death at one point.
Therefore, O my disciples, my brothers,
sisters, and children of the Ummah, do what Allah has commanded and avoid what shall
bring about His displeasure. Stay firm on the straight path, and you shall
behold Allah, Insha-Allah, Ameen. This is my supplication for you, and
this is the responsibility that Allah has placed upon my shoulders – to guide
you to the right path and encourage you to embark upon it for your own
salvation.
I pray that all those who sincerely believe in
my master Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) and this humble self in this era with true
purity of heart (not out of selfish ambition, thirst for power, or the desire
for recognition) will have their ranks elevated by Allah to the extent that
they receive divine mercy, and that Allah reveals Himself to them in this world
(through revelation) and in the Hereafter (where they will behold Him in His
true state). Insha-Allah, Ta’ala Al-Aziz.
---Friday Sermon of 18 April 2025~ 18 Shawwal 1446 AH delivered by Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam International Hazrat Muhyiuddin Al Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim (aba) of Mauritius.