ʿalā al-Mubtadiʿa* (paragraphs 181-190) by Ibn al-Bannāʾ al-Ḥanbalī.
They also adduced as evidence what was previously established regarding the drawing near of the Exalted Lord and His coming close to His Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him, on the night of the Ascension. However, this only establishes the drawing near and does not contain an explicit declaration of seeing with the eye, nor does seeing necessarily follow from it. Thus, we stop at the textual evidence and do not add to it.
Ibn Taymiyya, may Allah have mercy on him, said in Bayān Talbīs al-Jahmiyya (7/157):
"That which the majority of the people of the Sunna and hadith hold is the affirmation of Muḥammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him, seeing his Lord. However, they differed: should it be said, 'He saw Him with his eye,' or should it be said, 'He saw Him with his heart,' or should it be said, 'He saw Him,' without saying 'with his eye' or 'with his heart'? There are three opinions..." End quote. [See: Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā (3/386)]
I say: It is established in Muslim's Ṣaḥīḥ (355) from the hadith of Ibn ʿAbbās, may God be pleased with them both, that he said: "The Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him, saw his Lord with his heart." And in another wording (356): "He saw Him with his heart twice."
And it is established from ʿĀʾisha, may God be pleased with her, that she said: "Whoever claims that Muḥammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him, saw his Lord has fabricated a great lie against God..." [Narrated by al-Bukhārī (3234) and Muslim (358)].
Some scholars have reconciled these two statements, saying: "ʿĀʾisha denied seeing with the eye, and Ibn ʿAbbās affirmed seeing with the heart. The established wordings from Ibn ʿAbbās are either absolute or qualified by the heart. Sometimes he says, 'Muḥammad saw his Lord,' and sometimes he says, 'He saw Him with his heart.' No explicit wording is established from Ibn ʿAbbās that he saw Him with his eye... There is nothing in the evidences that necessitates that he saw Him with his eye, nor is that established from any of the Companions, may God be pleased with them, nor is there anything in the Book and the Sunna that indicates that. Rather, the authentic texts are more indicative of its negation, as in Muslim's Ṣaḥīḥ (362) from Abū Dharr, may God be pleased with him, who said: I asked the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him, 'Did you see your Lord?' He said: 'Light, how could I see Him?'"
[See the words of Ibn Taymiyya in Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā (6/509-510) and Bayān Talbīs al-Jahmiyya (7/250)]
As for our Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him, seeing his Lord, Mighty and Majestic, with his eyes on earth; the people of the Sunna have agreed that he did not see his Lord with his eyes on earth, and that every hadith containing that is a false lie by the agreement of the scholars of the Muslims. [Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā (3/386-389)]
