Volume 8, Book 76, Number 577:

Narrated Abu Huraira:

…Then Allah will come to then in a shape they know and will say, "I am your Lord.' They will say, '(No doubt) You are our Lord,' and they will follow Him. Then a bridge will be laid over the (Hell) Fire." Allah's Apostle added, "I will be the first to cross it…  

Here is another hadith which tells us that Allah is anthropomorphic—He does posses a shape and will be an entity—just like a flesh–and–blood being.  

You will definitely see Allah with your own eyes...(Sahih Bukhari, 9.93.530, 531)  

Allah is seated on a Throne with His angels guarding Him.
When we read the Qur’an describing the attributes of Allah, we are amazed that Muhammad had taken extreme care to describe his Allah. He compared Allah to a human king—just like the kings in many countries, seated on a huge throne and conducting His affairs from this throne (more on Allah’s throne in a later part of this essay). The Qur’an even tells us that Allah created His throne and then He walked to it and rose over it to take His seat. Read the following verses from the Qur’an.  

Allah created the heavens (first) and (then) the earth in six days then he rose over His throne...7:54

007.054
YUSUFALI: Your Guardian-Lord is Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth in six days, and is firmly established on the throne (of authority): He draweth the night as a veil o'er the day, each seeking the other in rapid succession: He created the sun, the moon, and the stars, (all) governed by laws under His command. Is it not His to create and to govern? Blessed be Allah, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds!

Allah created the heavens (first) and (then) the earth in six days and (then) He firmly established himself on His throne (i.e. He moved to His throne from somewhere else)...57:4  

057.004

YUSUFALI: He it is Who created the heavens and the earth in Six Days, and is moreover firmly established on the Throne (of Authority). He knows what enters within the earth and what comes forth out of it, what comes down from heaven and what mounts up to it. And He is with you wheresoever ye may be. And Allah sees well all that ye do.  

The angels (eight) will be by the side of Allah's throne (octagonal in shape?) ...69:17  

069.017

 YUSUFALI: And the angels will be on its sides, and eight will, that Day, bear the Throne of thy Lord above them.

Like a security guard Allah watched Muhammad, Noah and other Prophets.

Allah watches Muhammad when he prays alone or in congregations…26:218-219

026.218
YUSUFALI: Who seeth thee standing forth (in prayer),
026.219
YUSUFALI: And thy movements among those who prostrate themselves,

026.220
YUSUFALI: For it is He Who heareth and knoweth all things.  

Those few verses will give us the impression that Allah really lives above us and glances over all His creations—similar to the astronauts in an orbit who, from their windows of their spacecraft, glance on the mother planet (earth). Here are few more verses from the holy Qur’an on the visual glances of Allah high above from space.  

Allah is like a guardian on a watch-tower—always watchful...89:14  

089.014
YUSUFALI: For thy Lord is (as a Guardian) on a watch-tower.

Allah has two eyes; with His two eyes He saw Noah’s ark…54:13–14

054.013
YUSUFALI: But We bore him on an ( Ark ) made of broad planks and caulked with palm-fibre:

054.014
YUSUFALI: She floats under our eyes (and care): a recompense to one who had been rejected (with scorn)!

A hadith in Sunaan Ibn Majah tells us that Allah does indeed glance from above:  

Sunaan Ibn Majah, Vol. I, Hadith Number 184:

Jabir b. ‘Abdullah (Allah be pleased with both of them) reported that Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “When the inmates of Paradise will (enter) into their blessings, a light will suddenly shine upon them. Upon this, they will raise their heads (and see) that their Lord is glancing them from above. He (the Lord) will say, “Assalamu ‘alaikum (peace be upon you), O the inmates of the Paradise !” He said, “This refers to Allah’s words: The word from the Merciful Lord is: Peace (36:58).” He will look towards them and they will look towards Him and will not pay any attention to anything of the Divine favors as long as they will keep looking towards Him till He will hide (Himself) from them and His Light and His Blessings will last on them in their houses.  

In a foot note, Ibn Majah casts some doubt on the authenticity of this hadith. I quoted this hadith just to demonstrate that Muhammad did try to convince his followers about the watchful nature of his Allah. Even without this hadith, there are a number of verses in the Qur’an which unmistakably tell us that Allah has the ears to hear all conversations. Here is such a verse:  

Allah heard the complain that a woman brought to Muhammad regarding her husband; Allah hears all conversations…58:1

058.001
YUSUFALI: Allah has indeed heard (and accepted) the statement of the woman who pleads with thee concerning her husband and carries her complaint (in prayer) to Allah: and Allah (always) hears the arguments between both sides among you: for Allah hears and sees (all things).

Witnessing a physical Allah is as certain as the observation of the sun and the moon.

There are many ahadith which tell us very clearly that Allah is a visible being, though one has to die to see Allah. Here are summaries of a few such ahadith. Readers are requested to verify these ahadith either with the online version of these ahadith or with the print version. Please note that there is no online version of Ibn Majah (or at least, I am yet to see one) and not all ahadith of Sunaan Abu Dawud are available on line. These ahadith, I have quoted in full.  

On the resurrection day you will see Allah like you see the sun or the moon on a clear sky …(Sahih Bukhari, 6.60.105)  

People will see Allah like a moon...(Sahih Bukhari, 9.93.529)  

Background to 50:39: when Muhammad looked at the full moon and said that you would see Allah just like you see the full moon…(Sahih Bukhari, 1.10.529, 547)  

You will see Allah as clearly as you see the moon and the sun; hooks will be used to punish the unbelievers; Muhammad, along with his followers will be the first to cross the bridge of hell; some sinners will stay in hell temporarily, some forever  ... (Sahih Bukhari, 1.12.770)

Sunaan ibn Majah, volume 1, hadith number 178

Abu Huraira (Allah be pleased with him) reported that Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Do you crowd (and push one another) to see the moon of the night of the full moon?” they (the audience) said, “No,” whereupon he (the Holy Prophet) said, “Similarly, you will not crowd to see your Lord on the Day of Resurrection.”

<  back      next  >