Hadith of seeing God as clear as the sun

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This hadith in the Sahih Bukhari collection concerns an occasion on which the prophet Muhammad is said to have described the events of the Judgment Day.

Sunni deem the hadith authentic and use it to conclude that God will be seen on the Judgment Day, while Shi'a use it to show how Sunnis hold views that Shi'a regard as invalid.

Even though the hadith is quite famous in both Shi'a and Sunni literature, the hadith has not received any formal name, in contrast to, for example, the hadith of Qur'an and Sunnah.

The hadith is narrated first hand by Abu-Sa'id al-Khudri, one of the narrators of hadith most quoted by Sunni. Shi'a have a cautious view of him, rejecting some of his narrations, while accepting some others. This particular narration is rejected by Shi'as.

This hadith is also reported by Abu Huraira [1].

1 Narration
2 Sunni view
3 Shi'a view
4 See also
5 Reference
6 External links

[edit] Narration

Abu-Sa'id al-Khudri narrates:

[edit] Seeing God

We said:

"O Allah's Apostle! Shall we see our Lord on the Day of Resurrection?"

He said:

"Do you have any difficulty in seeing the sun and the moon when the sky is clear?"

We said:

"No."

He said:

"So you will have no difficulty in seeing your Lord on that Day as you have no difficulty in seeing the sun and the moon (in a clear sky)."

[edit] Idolaters

The Prophet then said:

Somebody will then announce, "Let every nation follow what they used to worship". So the companions of the cross will go with their cross, and the idolaters (will go) with their idols, and the companions of every god (false deities) (will go) with their god, till there remain those who used to worship Allah, both the obedient ones and the mischievous ones, and some of the people of the Scripture.

[edit] Jews

Then Hell will be presented to them as if it were a mirage. Then it will be said to the Jews, "What did you use to worship?" They will reply, "We used to worship Ezra, the son of God." It will be said to them, "You are liars, for God has neither a wife nor a son. What do you want (now)?" They will reply, "We want You to provide us with water." Then it will be said to them "Drink", and they will fall down in Hell (instead).

[edit] Christians

Then it will be said to the Christians, "What did you use to worship?" They will reply, "We used to worship Messiah, the son of God." It will be said, "You are liars, for God has neither a wife nor a son. What do you want (now)?" They will say, "We want You to provide us with water." It will be said to them, "Drink", and they will fall down in Hell (instead).

[edit] Waiting for God

When there remain only those who used to worship God (alone), both the obedient ones and the mischievous ones, it will be said to them, "What keeps you here when all the people have gone?" They will say, "We parted with them (in the world) when we were in greater need of them than we are today, we heard the call of one proclaiming, 'Let every nation follow what they used to worship', and now we are waiting for our Lord."

[edit] Recognizing God

Then the Almighty will come to them in a shape other than the one which they saw the first time, and He will say, "I am your Lord", and they will say, "You are not our Lord". And none will speak to Him then but the Prophets, and then it will be said to them, "Do you know any sign by which you can recognize Him"? They will say "The shin", and so God will then uncover His Shin whereupon every believer will prostrate before Him and there will remain those who used to prostrate before Him just for showing off and for gaining good reputation. These people will try to prostrate but their backs will be rigid like one piece of a wood (and they will not be able to prostrate).

[edit] The bridge

Then the bridge will be laid across Hell.

We, the companions of the Prophet said:

O Allah's Apostle! What is the bridge?

He said,

It is a slippery (bridge) on which there are clamps and (hooks like) a thorny seed that is wide at one side and narrow at the other and has thorns with bent ends. Such a thorny seed is found in Najd and is called As-Sa'dan. Some of the believers will cross the bridge as quickly as the wink of an eye, some others as quick as lightning, a strong wind, fast horses or she-camels.

So some will be safe without any harm; some will be safe after receiving some scratches, and some will fall down into Hell (Fire). The last person will cross by being dragged (over the bridge).

[edit] Intercession of Muslims

The Prophet said,

You (Muslims) cannot be more pressing in claiming from me a right that has been clearly proved to be yours than the believers in interceding with Almighty for their (Muslim) brothers on that Day, when they see themselves safe. They will say, "O God! (Save) our brothers (for they) used to pray with us, fast with us and also do good deeds with us." God will say, "Go and take out (of Hell) anyone in whose heart you find faith equal to the weight of one (gold) Dinar". God will forbid the Fire to burn the faces of those sinners. They will go to them and find some of them in Hell (Fire) up to their feet, and some up to the middle of their legs. So they will take out those whom they will recognize and then they will return, and God will say (to them), "Go and take out (of Hell) anyone in whose heart you find faith equal to the weight of one half Dinar". They will take out whomever they will recognize and return, and then God will say, "Go and take out (of Hell) anyone in whose heart you find faith equal to the weight of an atom (or a smallest ant)", and so they will take out all those whom they will recognize.

[edit] Qur'an

Abu Sa'id continued:

If you do not believe me then read the Holy Verse:--

"Surely! Allah wrongs not even of the weight of an atom (or a smallest ant) but if there is any good (done) He doubles it." (4.40)

[edit] Intercession of God

The Prophet added:

Then the prophets and angels and the believers will intercede, and (last of all) the Almighty will say, "Now remains My Intercession". He will then hold a handful of the Fire from which He will take out some people whose bodies have been burnt, and they will be thrown into a river at the entrance of Paradise, called the water of life.

They will grow on its banks, as a seed carried by the torrent grows. You have noticed how it grows beside a rock or beside a tree, and how the side facing the sun is usually green while the side facing the shade is white. Those people will come out (of the River of Life) like pearls, and they will have (golden) necklaces, and then they will enter Paradise whereupon the people of Paradise will say, "These are the people emancipated by the Beneficent. He has admitted them into Paradise without them having done any good deeds and without sending forth any good (for themselves)." Then it will be said to them, "'For you is what you have seen and its equivalent as well".

[edit] Sunni view

Sunni deem this hadith sahih (authentic) and an accurate description of how the events on the Judgment day will occur.

The hadith is included in both Sahih Muslim and Sahih Bukhari, the two most trusted hadith collections Sunnis have, believed to contain only authentic hadith.

[edit] Shi'a view

Shi'a deem this hadith as a fabrication, for several reasons.

First, they are cautious regarding the testimony of the first hand narrator Abu-Sa'id al-Khudri.

Second, they view this hadith as going against the Shi'a view of Tawhid, since Shi'a reject the notion of God having parts, especially body parts, such as a divine "shin" [2]. Shi'a reject the idea of God being visible at any time, and criticize Sunnis for holding such beliefs, in particular in disputes regarding Tawhid.

Even though Shi'a do not regard this hadith as authentic, they deem it notable that it describes intercession from prophets on the Judgment Day, something used in disputes regarding Tawassul.