All praise and thanks to Allah and peace and blessings upon His final Messenger.

The first part of this beautiful hadith talks about seeing Allah in the Hereafter. This is proven from the Glorious Qur’aan as well as the Authentic Sunnah. https://twitter.com/lensicles/status/1266054367502831617

The second part of the hadith that needs analysis is the one where our beloved Prophet (peace be upon him) talks about Allah (Glorified and Exalted) coming in a shape other than the one which they (the people) saw the first time and then mentioning about the Shin of Allah.

As for the part of hadith that talks about Allah coming to the people in another image, we need to understand that Allah Almighty is capable of everything that He wills, and nothing is difficult for Him.

So, it is sufficient for us to believe in what the hadith indicates; without trying to investigate this matter further.

Surah al-A‘raaf, Chapter 7, Verse 172

“And (remember) when your Lord brought forth from the Children of Adam, from their loins, their seed and made them testify as to themselves (saying): “Am I not your Lord”

They said: “Yes! We testify,” lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection: “Verily, we were unaware of this.”

The first gathering is mentioned in detail in the beautiful hadith below:

Jami at-Tirmidhi, Book of Tafsir, Hadith 3076 (Grade: Hasan)

Abu Hurairah narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: “When Allah created Adam,

He wiped his (Adam’s) back and every person that He created among Adam’s offspring until the Day of Resurrection fell out of his (Adam’s) back. Allah placed a ray of light between the eyes of every person.

Then Allah showed them to Adam and he said: ‘O Lord! Who are these people?’

Allah said: ‘These are your offspring.’

Adam saw one of them whose ray between his eyes amazed him, so he said: ‘O Lord! Who is this?’

Allah said: ‘This is a man from the latter nations of your offspring called Dawud.’

Adam said: ‘Lord! How long did You make his lifespan?’

Allah said: ‘Sixty years.’

Adam said: ‘O Lord! Add forty years from my life to his.’

So at the end of Adam’s life, the Angel of death of came to him, and Adam said: ‘Do I not have forty years remaining?’

Angel said: ‘Did you not give them to your son, Dawud?'”

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “Adam denied, so his offspring denied, and Adam forgot and his offspring forgot, and Adam sinned, so his offspring sinned.”

Commentary on the above hadith: In the above hadith, we can see that Allah, the Exalted and Glorified, brought forth Adam’s offspring from his loins and made them testify that Allah is their Lord and King and there is no deity worthy of worship except Him.

Despite making this Covenant with Allah, majority of mankind denied it in this worldly life and forgot all about it by associating partners with Allah and worshipping them, just like Prophet Adam (peace be upon him) forgot about his covenant with Allah,

where he had originally requested Allah to add forty years from his lifespan to Prophet Dawud’s life, but when Angel of Death came, Prophet Adam asked him about those forty years.

The final part of the hadith collected by Imam Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) which needs further elaboration is the part that talks about “The Shin” of Allah.

Please note that that throughout the Qur’aan and Authentic Sunnah, Allah mentions His Names and Attributes and Shin is one of the Attributes of Allah. This hadith is actually explaining the following verse of the Noble Qur’aan:

Surah Al-Qalam, Chapter 68, Verse 42

(Remember) the Day when the Shin shall be laid bare (i.e. the Day of Resurrection) and they shall be called to prostrate (to Allah), but they (hypocrites) shall not be able to do so.

Whenever we come across Allah’s Names and Attributes, we should always keep the following verse in mind:

Surah Ash-Shuraa, Chapter 42, Verse 11

There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer.

This verse makes it clear that Allah’s Names and Attributes (despite having similar names to those of His creations) have no resemblance to His creations. To understand this better, let us look at the following example:

Humans have hands, so do clocks (hour hand and a minute hand). Even though they have the same name (hands), but do they have any similarity? This is a very simple example, but it does illustrate the point that having same names does not mean that they will look the same too.

Now, as we go over Qur’aan and Authentic Sunnah, we will come across other Names and Attributes of Allah. We will cover some of them (with proofs and evidences) below, but before that, we need to understand the following important point very clearly:

When we come across Allah’s Names and Attributes in Qur’aan and Authentic Sunnah, we need to take the same approach as the companions of our beloved Prophet (peace be upon him) as well as the pious predecessors.

This requires that every time we find Allah’s Names and Attributes mentioned in Qur’aan and Authentic Sunnah, we must affirm that which Allah has affirmed for Himself, and should NOT do the following:

Distort their meaning,
Discuss the how,
Compare Allah to His creation or
Deny any of Allah’s Attributes

Rather, we MUST accept and believe in Allah’s Names and Attributes exactly as They are mentioned. This is because believing in the Names and Attributes of Allah is essential part of our Eemaan.

Let us now look at some of the other Attributes of Allah mentioned in the Qur’aan and Authentic Sunnah:

Allah has a Face

We learn that Allah has an actual Face that is one of His Personal Attributes affirmed to Himself and actual in meaning in a manner that befits Him. Also, it’s not befitting to deny this attribute, since both the Qur’aan and Sunnah confirm it, as we can see below:

And to Allah belong the east and the west, so wherever you turn (yourselves or your faces) there is the Face of Allah (and He is High above, over His Throne).”

(Reference: Surah Al-Baqarah, Chapter 2, Verse 115)

Allah has Two Hands

We learn that Allah has Two Hands. They are also from His Personal Attributes and they in no way resemble the hands of created beings. The Qurʹaan and Sunnah have both proven and affirmed them, as we find below:

“O Iblis (Satan)! What prevents you from prostrating yourself to one whom I have created with Both My Hands.” (Reference: Surah Saad, Chapter 38, Verse 75)

Allah has Eyes

We learn that Allah has Eyes with which He sees, and they are real and actual in a manner that befits Him. They in no way resemble the eyes of created beings. They are also from His Personal Attributes and affirmed by the Qur’aan and Sunnah, as we see below:

Floating under Our Eyes, a reward for him who had been rejected!” (Reference: Surah Al-Qamar, Ch. 54, Verse 14)

NEXT STEPS: To further increase your understanding of Allah’s Names and Attributes, I would recommend that you check out the following books:

The Beautiful Names and Attributes of Allah: Important Principles to Remember by Sheikh Muhammad bin Salih al-‘Uthaymeen