[Q 569] Reconciling Ḥadīth with Mi‘rāj Belief

QUESTION:

What does the Hadith in Sahih Bukhari mean narrated by Sayyidah Aisha رضي الله عنها which is like this:

If anyone tells you that Muhammad has seen his Lord, he is a liar, for Allah says: ‘No vision can grasp Him.’ (6:103) And if anyone tells you that Muhammad has seen the Unseen, he is a liar, for Allah says: “None has the knowledge of the Unseen but Allah.”

As the Ahl-us-Sunnah believe the Prophet saw Allah in the night of Meraj and that they have been Bestowed with knowledge of unseen by Allah.

ANSWER:

On the night of Mi‘raj (ascension), Huzoor Sarwar-e-Do ‘Alam عليه الصلوۃ والسلام saw Allah Tabarak wa Ta‘ala with the eyes of his head. This is established through the narrations of many Sahabah Kiram (companions) عليهم الرضوان and through Marfu‘ Hadith-e-Mubarakah (a Hadith directly attributed to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم). As for Sayyidah ‘A’ishah رضي الله تعالى عنها stating that whoever says this has lied, in order to understand this issue, it is necessary to keep a few points in consideration:

(01) Sayyidah ‘A’ishah رضي الله تعالى عنها did not narrate this statement from Huzoor Aqdas صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم. Rather, she relied upon the Ayah (verse) from which she derived the ruling, and this is her personal opinion (ra’y). In reality, the Ayah negates idraak (encompassing/comprehending), not the mere act of seeing. If she رضي الله تعالى عنها had any Marfu‘ Hadith in this regard, she would certainly have mentioned it.

(02) Huzoor Nabi Kareem صلى الله عليه وسلم was blessed with the honour of Mi‘raj multiple times, and these Mi‘rajs were both ruhani (spiritual) and jismani (physical). When the physical Mi‘raj (Shab-e-Mi‘raj) occurred, at that time the nikah (marriage) of Sayyidah ‘A’ishah Siddiqa رضي الله تعالى عنها with the Prophet صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم had not yet taken place, and she was young in age. Her statement رضي الله تعالى عنها refers to those Mi‘rajs which occurred after she came into the blessed service of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم. The physical Mi‘raj had already taken place several years before her presence.

(03) The statement of Sayyidah ‘A’ishah رضي الله تعالى عنها is in negation (nafi), whereas the statement of Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas رضي الله تعالى عنهما and other Sahabah Kiram who affirmed seeing with the eyes of the head is in affirmation (ithbat). When there is an apparent conflict between negation and affirmation, the one who affirms (muthbit — the one who establishes and confirms something) is given precedence. This is because the one negating does so on the basis that he did not hear of it, whereas the one affirming does so because he heard and knew of it; thus, knowledge rests with the one affirming.

(04) Likewise, the Hadith of Sayyidah ‘A’ishah Siddiqa رضي الله تعالى عنها appears contrary to the Hadith of other Sahabah Kiram عليهم الرضوان. When the narration of one Sahabi (companion) conflicts with the narrations of multiple Sahabah, then that narration is not accepted (in preference to the others).

Answered by: Mubashir Attari (AskMufti Scholar)
Verified by: Mufti Sajid Attari
Translated answer
Date: 25th February 2026.