The human mind is really a miracle, but it is limited in certain areas. God is different from anything that the human mind can think or imagine. So he gets confused when he tries to visualize God. Nevertheless, it is possible to understand God’s qualities, because you do not need to get a mental picture of Him. For example, al-Ghaffareiner is of God’s name, which means that He forgives all sins. Anyone can easily understand this because it corresponds to the way our minds can imagine God. Jewish and Christian teachings of God are partially confusing in this regard because of their misunderstanding of the matter. The Torah of the Jews teaches that God is like man:
„And God said: ‚Let us make men, an image that is the same to us … God created man in his image …'“ (Genesis 1: 26-27)
Certain churches even contain statues or pictures of an old, bearded man who is said to represent God. Some of them were produced in large paintings by Michelangelo, depicting the face and hands of God – making them look like those of an old man.
To depict God in Islam is an impossibility that means unbelief, because God tells us in the Quran that nothing is like him:
“There is nothing like it; and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing. ”(Quran 42:11)
„And none is equal to him.“ (Quran 112: 4)
Moses‘ Request to See God
The eyes cannot bear to see God. He explains to us in the Quran:
„Looks cannot reach him, but He does reach the looks.“ (Quran 6: 103)
Moses, to whom God spoke and to whom God gave great miracles, was chosen by God as His Prophet. It is said that since God used to speak to him, he thought that he might be able to actually see God. The story is mentioned in the Quran, where God tells us what happened:
“And when Moses came to our appointment and his Lord spoke to him, he said: ‚My Lord, show (you) that I may look at you.‘ He said: ‚You will not see Me, but look at the mountain; if he stays in his place insane, then you will see me. ‚ When his Lord appeared to the mountain, He let it crumble and Moses passed out. And when he came to, he said, ‚Blessed are you, I am converting to you and I am the first of the believers.‘ ”(Quran 7: 143)
God makes it clear that nobody, not even the great prophet Moses, can bear the face of the divine, because God is too great to be grasped by human eyes in this life. According to the Quran, it became clear to Moses that his request was based on error, and therefore he asked God’s forgiveness for asking.
Did the Prophet Muhammad see God in this life?
The Prophet Muhammad, God’s grace and blessing upon him, traveled on his wonderful journey through the heavens and met God. Some people thought that because the Prophet Muhammad had spoken to God on this journey, he might have seen him too. One of his companions, Abu Dahrr, asked him about it. The Prophet replied,
„There was only light, how could I have seen Him?“ (Sahieh Muslim)
What was that light he saw? The Prophet said:
“Verily, God does not sleep, nor would it be of benefit to Him to sleep. He is the one who lowers the scales and lifts them. The deeds of the night ascend to Him before the deeds of the day and those of the day before those of the night; and his veil is light. ” (Sahieh Muslim)
visions of God in spiritual experiences
Some people, including some who claim to be Muslim, report spiritual experiences in which they claim to have seen God. Usually these accounts of experiences also include seeing light or a great being sitting on a throne. In the case of Muslims, such an experience is usually accompanied by a decline in fundamental Islamic practices such as salah (prayer) and fasting, erroneously assuming that such practices are only for ordinary people who have had no such experiences.
So what does Islam teach us? Islam teaches us that it is Satan who pretends to be God to mislead ignorant people who believe in such experiences. One of the fundamental foundations of Islam is that the law revealed to the Prophet Muhammad, God’s grace and blessing upon him, cannot be changed or abolished. God has not allowed some people and forbidden others, nor has He conveyed His law through the spiritual experiences of people. The divine law has been transmitted through the ordinary path of revelation through the prophets, a path that was completed with the appearance of Prophet Muhammad, the last prophet of God.
Seeing God in Life After Death
In the Islamic doctrine, God cannot be seen in this life, but people will see God in the next life; even if God doesn’t totally reveal himself. This is clearly said in the Quran and Sunnah. The Prophet said,
“The day of revival is the first day any eye will see God Almighty and Exalted.” [1]
Describing the events of the day of revival, God states in the Quran:
“That day there will be radiant faces looking at their Lord. ” (Quran 75: 22-23)
The prophet was asked if we would see God on the day of resurrection. He replied, „Do you harm if you look at the full moon?“ [2] ‚No‘, they replied. Then he said, „Verily, you will see Him the same way.“ In another hadith, the Prophet said, „Verily, each of you will see God on the day you will meet Him, and there will be no veil or mediator between Him and you.“ [3] Seeing God will also be a favor of the inhabitants of paradise. Indeed, seeing believers is a greater joy for believers than all other joys of paradise combined. On the other hand, the unbelievers are deprived of the right to see God in paradise, and this is a greater punishment for them than all the pain and suffering of hell combined.
Footnotes:
[1] Darqutni, Darimi
[2] Sahieh Al-Bukhari, Sahieh Muslim
[3] Saheeh Al-Bukhari
Source: https://www.islamland.com/deu/articles/knnen-wir-gott-sehen