God watching them and they having the beatific vision

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The will get whatever they desireThe Sensing of God’s Approval

The greatest spiritual happiness is mercy their beloved shows on them. It is a great boon to talk to the beloved and the greater bounty is that a person may have the beatific vision or that he perceives God through his heart and is immersed in His beauty.

Qura’n has described this spiritual bounty man times. In verse 174 of Surah Baqarah it is said:

“God will not speak to them and He will not purify them and there is a grievous torment for them.”

This has been expressed strictly in another place. It speaks about those who sell fidelity for a very low price. Verse 77 of Surah Al Imran says:

“God will not speak to them or look at them or purify them and for them is a grievous torment.”

They will remain deprived of talking to God and his beneficence and so they will never be purified because Paradise is the place for purified people. They will not be able to enter it and will be subjected to the severest punishment.

Both these verses tell us that the bounties will be given to the righteous only. God will talk to them mercifully. The station that was given to the Prophets in this world in which they exulted will be given to the righteous on the Day of Judgment. What better pleasure can one have? He will talk to them and look at them mercifully. What greater bounty can there than god looking at them, the true lovers with love and mercy?

It should be noted that the dialogue will not be through a tongue or mouth and the seeing will not be done through these eyes.

When a person is angry with his son he does not talk to him and never looks at him. If the son is intelligent then this disdain pains him spiritually but when the father is happy with his son, he pays heed to him and looks dearly at him and this is a great reward for the child.

 It happens this way in this material world. The same thing is there in a higher level between the ruler and his subjects in the hereafter. Verses 22 and 23 of Surah Qiyamah describe the pleasure from a single glance of this unique beloved. It says:

“On that day some faces shall be radiant attentive to their Lord.”

The notable point is that “Ilaa Rabbihaa Naazirah” is vague. Its place at the beginning tells us that that they will observe his glory on that day and not of any other. If they look at something else it will only be a glace but will see His reflection in it too because everything in this universe reflects His glory and the sign of His mercy and beneficence. Looking at the signs is like looking at the owner of the signs.

The point raised here is that the above term refers to the waiting that the righteous are going through for His beneficence. This is why it is often said that the eyes of a person are only for you waiting for your kindness or that you are the center of his hopes.

There is no doubt that the verse has a vast meaning which includes both the meanings. Most commentators from the Ahle Sunnah resort to weak explanations and hadiths to prove that one will see God with these eyes. They say that this is one of the bounties for the dwellers of Paradise for they will see God with these limited and normal eyes. Some say that God will manifest himself as a divine light on the horizon and they will look up. They will see Him with these eyes and feel the pleasure.

We have discussed such polytheistic ideas in the fourth volume in details and how they limit God into a body. The weak hadiths about this have also been discussed and there is no need no repeat it. We regard these mistakes and frivolous idea as the result of parting ways with the Ahle bait and their teachings and for forgetting or neglecting the continuous hadiths from them. (1)

What is proven with certainty is that God’s glory will be manifest for all in this world. The screens of darkness will be removed from the hearts of the believers and they will perceive Him in their hearts and look at His glory.

At times the vision will so immerse them that they will be oblivious of every thing else in the bounties of Paradise.

We end this discussion with the verse that explains the above in a new and unique way.

Verse 15 of Surah Mustafa fin says:

“Verily they will be veiled from the light of their Lord that Day.”

What greater punishment can there be that they will be stopped from coming close to God and to be present before Him? This means that the believers will not be behind a screen on that Day. They will have the pleasure of observing the Glory of God and if there is a preventive screen it is there for the disbelievers. This beatific vision is the greatest pleasure for the believer.

 


 

1. For more details see vol.4 pages 175 to 192 of this series.

 

The will get whatever they desireThe Sensing of God’s Approval
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