I shall divide your proofs in parts which will cover everything you said and shall refute them one by one) wahabis highlighted the 18th Ayah of Surah Najm though previous ayahs should have been highlighted too which actually prove that Prophet (Peace be upon him) did see Allah
b) Then again wahabis used (Al-A'raf 143) to prove that Sight of Allah is not possible, I will prove from the same ayah that sight of Allah is indeed possible
Summerizing Usman's post and Its refutation!
c) wahabis used the Traditions of Hadrat `A'ishah, I will Insha ALLAH prove from overwhelming other ahadith including that of Ibn Abbas (ra) who was the chief commentator of Quran that Prophet (Peace be upon him) actually saw Allah, plus the Imams of Islaaf and leading Tabiyeen like Hasan Basri used to swear upon the fact that Prophet (Peace be upon him) saw Allah.
d) Then wahabis used 2 ahadith of Sahih Muslim and showed interpretation of Ibn Qayyim (the Literalist) that they refer to seeing a veil rather than Allah, I will prove you wrong from the 2 ahadith themselves and their actual Arabic wording which decisively prove that Prophet (Peace be upon him) saw Allah
e) wahabis claimed that Imam Muslim in his Kitab al-Iman has related this tradition from Hadrat Abu Musa al-Ash`ari: "The Holy Prophet said: The sight of no one from among His creatures has reached Allah Almighty." I will prove from Same Abu Musa Al Ashari (ra) that he believed in the sight of Allah and the translation from Sahih Muslim which you have given is false
f) Then wahabis show a hadith from Sahih Bukhari’s Kitab at Tawhid that It was Allah whom the Prophet (Peace be upon him) saw
**Answer regarding (a)53.7: While he was in the highest part of the horizon: 53.8: Then he approached and came closer,
53.9: And was at a distance of but two bow-lengths or (even) nearer;53.10: So did (Allah) convey the inspiration to His Servant- (conveyed) what He (meant) to convey.53.11: The (Prophet's) (mind and) heart in no way falsified that which he saw.
53.12: Will ye then dispute with him concerning what he saw?
Quran and Sharah from Bukhari and Muslim
Especially in the 12th Ayah Allah is challenging the whole world that “WILL YE THEN DISPUTE WITH HIM CONCERNING WHAT HE SAW” had it been seeing Gabriel only then that would not have been a great challenge because previous Prophets like Moses (Peace be upon him) had even talked “DIRECTLY WITH ALLAH” which was a far superior thing than seeing Gibriel, hence the vision of Allah was finally reserved for Prophet (Peace be upon him) as hadith of Ibn Abbas proves (I will come to it later) meanwhile I will quote detailed Tafsir of it by Imam Ibn Jawzi (rah), he explaines the 8th and 9th ayah in light of sahih ahadith and aqwaal in this fashion
وفي المشار إليه بقوله: «ثُمَّ دنا» ثلاثة أقوال.
أحدها: أنه الله عز وجل. روى البخاري ومسلم في «الصحيحين» من حديث شريك بن أبي نَمِر عن أنس بن مالك قال: دنا الجبّار ربُّ العِزَّة فتدلَّى حتى كان منه قابَ قوسين أو أدنى. وروى أبو سلمة عن ابن عباس: «ثم دنا» قال: دنا ربُّه فتدلَّى، وهذا اختيار مقاتل. قال: دنا الرَّبُّ من محمد ليلةَ أُسْرِي به،، فكان منه قابَ قوسين أو أدنى. وقد كشفتُ هذا الوجه في كتاب «المُغْني» وبيَّنتُ أنه ليس كما يخطُر بالبال من قُرب الأجسام وقطع المسافة، لأن ذلك يختص بالأجسام، والله منزَّه عن ذلك.
والثاني: أنه محمد دنا من ربِّه، قاله ابن عباس، والقرظي.
والثالث: أنه جبريل. ثم في الكلام قولان.
Translation: There are three famous sayings regarding the saying of Allah i.e. Then he approached and came closer
First: That is Allah Azza wajjal as it is narrated by Bukhari and Muslim in “Sahihayn” the hadith from Sharik bin Ibn Numayr who heard from Anas bin Malik (ra) who said: The Irresistible, the Lord of Honor and Majesty approached and came closer till he was about two bow lengths or (even) nearer [Sahih Bukhari Hadith # 7518, Sahih Muslim Hadith # 162]
Masbat (Proof) takes over Nafi (rejection)
...and It is narrated by Abu Salama from Ibn Abbas (ra) that {He approached} refers to Allah coming near, this is adopted by Maqatil (ra) who said: Allah came near to Muhammad (Peace be upon him) on the night of Isra And was at a distance of but two bow-lengths or (even) nearer, however It is written in the book Al Mughni that this coming nearer does not refer to coming closer in sense of bodies not distance as that is the case with bodily creations and Allah is High of such thing being attributed to him. The Second: That It was Muhammad (Peace be upon him) who went near Allah, this is said by Ibn Abbas (ra) and Qurzi(ra) too.
The Third: It was Gibril and there is Kalaam in this Qawl! Reference: Imam Ibn Jawzi in Zad al Maseer fi Ilm at Tafsir, Volume No. 8, Page No. 65-66]
Hence From Quran and Sahih ahadith of Bukhari and Muslim which give best sharah of 8th and 9th Ayahs It is proven that Prophet (Peace be upon him) saw Allah (this itself is enough to say that Aisha ra’s qawl is not to be taken as absolute authority and even Anas bin Malik who is claimed to have rejected sight of Allah is proving in these ahadith that Prophet Peace be upon him saw Allah, It is fundamental Usool of Hadith that If same sahabi says 2 contrary things then “Masbat (proof)” takes over “Nafi (i.e. rejection)”, so according to this Usool itself It is soundly established that the Prophet Peace be upon him did indeed see Allah and the Nafi of this has to be rejected)
Answer to (b) Usman used the ayah (Surah al Araaf: 143) to claim that Prophet (Peace be upon him) could not see Allah as in that Ayah Allah said to Moses that you cannot see me!From same 7:143 that Its possible to see Allah
najdi/wahabi said and I quote: About the Prophet Moses it has been said in the Qur'an that he had besought to see Allah And the reply given was: Lan tarani "You cannot see Me." (Al-A'raf 143).
Jazak Allahu Khayrun Usman for writing the Arabic wording along i.e. “LAN TARANI” Insha ALLAH this will itself prove that Lan Tarani has the proof that sight of Allah is not “Impossible”
Here is proof from Tafsir al Jalalyn and Tafsir ul Qurtubi
Imam Jalal ud din suyuti (rah) said:
أَنظُرْ إِلَيْكَ قَالَ لَن تَرَٰنِى } أي لا تقدر على رؤيتي، والتعبير به دون «لن أُرَى» يفيد إمكان رؤيته تعالى { وَلَٰكِنِ انْظُرْ إِلَى الْجَبَلِ } الذي هو أقوى منك { فَإِنِ اسْتَقَرَّ } ثبت { مَكَانَهُ فَسَوْفَ تَرَٰنِى } أي تثبت لرؤيتي، وإلا فلا طاقة لك { فَلَمَّا تَجَلَّىٰ رَبُّهُ } أي ظهر من نوره قدر نصف أنملة الخنصر كما في حديث صححه الحاكم
Translation: {You shall not see Me},which means you do not have the capability to see me THE USE OF THE WORDING (LAN TARANI) RATHER THAN LAN URA (I.E. I SHALL NOT BE SEEN) IMPLIES THAT IT IS POSSIBLE TO SEE ALLAH {But gaze at the mountain} which is stronger than you are, {And if it stands still in its place} then you shall see Me’, that is, [then] you shall remain fixed [able] to see Me, otherwise, you will not have the capacity [for it]. {And when his Lord revealed (His) glory to the mountain} i.e. When he manifested his light, equivilant to half a nail of little finger as this is mentioned in the sahih hadith of Hakim
[Tafsir al Jalalyn, Page No. 167, Published by Dar Ibn Kathir, Damascus]
The Anbiya never ask for Impossible!
In the Ayah Musa (a.s) said in the end: And Moses fell down in a swoon. When he recovered his senses he said:"Glory be to Thee! to Thee I turn in repentance, and I am the first to believe."(7:143)
Imam Qurtubi (rah) explains it as:
وأجمعت الأمة على أن هذه التوبة ما كانت عن معصية؛ فإن الأنبياء معصومون. وأيضاً عند أهل السنة والجماعة الرؤيةُ جائزةٌ.
Translation: The Imams are unanimous that (Musa a.s) asking for Tawba does not refer to sins because the Anbiya are infallible/Masoom, and in the opinion of Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jammah the Sight of (Allah) is possible[ Tafsir al Qurtubi, Under 7:143]
Hence it is decisively proven from Quran itself that Anbiya never ask for something Impossible, had sight of Allah not been possible then Musa (a.s) would not have asked for it and nor would have Allah linked it to the condition of mountain staying at its place (because Allah does not do illogical things either .. Naudhobillah), the thing is that Musa (a.s) was not capable of seeing Him but Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) was and the vision was only reserved for him.
Proof on (c) i.e. Hadith of Aisha (ra) cannot supersede the overwhelming other ahadith which prove contrary to it.
The hadith of Aisha (ra) which Usman used has this wording: Whoever among you says that Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace) had seen his Lord and Sustainer, tells a lie
This hadith and specific wording of Aisha (ra) is itself proof that other Sahaba differed with her and many believed in sight Of Allah, plus Aisha (ra) getting very angry upon it is proof of her doing it in opposition of Ibn Abbas (ra) who was actually a far superior commentator of Quran than Aisha (ra) herself..
Knowing from Best commentators of Bukhari/Muslim
...some people would be eying for this to start accusing on Sahaba but what I am saying has absolutely no accusation on Sahaba because Sahaba were not infallible and this is opinion of Ahlus Sunnah (contrary to Shi’ites who see these mistakes of sahaba as excuses to accuse them and the great thing is that Shi’ites themselves reject the sight of Allah but Alhamdulillah Ahlus Sunnah are the saved group so our viewpoint is Haqq and Indeed our beloved Prophet has seen Allah)
I will present the most revered and authentic Sharh of this hadith in words of the great Imam Ahmed bin hanbal as cited by the leading commentator of Bukhari i.e. Imam Ibn Hajr al Asqalani (rah)
Imam Ibn Hajr al Asqalani (Rahimuhullah) says in his Fath ul Bari
عن المروزي قلت لأحمد إنهم يقولون إن عائشة قالت من زعم أن محمدا رأى ربه فقد أعظم على الله الفرية فبأي شيء يدفع قولها قال بقول النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم رأيت ربي قول النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم أكبر من قولها
Translation: Maruzi (rah) said to Imam Ahmed (rah): People say that Aisha (ra) used to say that whosoever says that the Prophet (saw) saw his Lord has attributed a lie to Allah, so how shall this be answered? (Imam Ahmed) replied: From the saying of Prophet (saw) [himself] “رأيت ربي” i.e. I saw my Lord, this will be an answer to Aisha (ra)’s Qawl because the saying of Prophet (saw) is far superior than saying of her (i.e. Aisha ra)[Fath ul Bari, Sharah Sahih ul Bukhari, Volume No. 8, Page No. 494]
Allah hu Akbar, may Allah Bless Imam Ahmed bin Hanbal (rah) who gave the perfect answer in this regard.
The 2 Ahadith of Muslim actually prove "Sight"
Imam Nawawi (rah) the leading commentator on Sahih Muslim sheds more light on this
He presents the case beautifully as:
وإذا صحت الروايات عن ابن عباس في إثبات الرؤية وجب المصير إلى إثباتها فإنها ليست مما يدرك بالعقل , ويؤخذ بالظن , وإنما يتلقى بالسماع ولا يستجيز أحد أن يظن بابن عباس أنه تكلم في هذه المسألة بالظن والاجتهاد . وقد قال معمر بن راشد حين ذكر اختلاف عائشة وابن عباس : ما عائشة عندنا بأعلم من ابن عباس , ثم إن ابن عباس أثبت شيئا نفاه والمثبت مقدم على النافي
Translation: When it is proven from Sahih ahadith of Ibn Abbas (ra) then we cannot assume that he said it according to his own thinking, definitely he said it due to his hearing from Prophet (saw), Ma’mar bin Rashid (rah) said regarding the difference between Aisha (ra) and Ibn Abbas (ra) that Aisha (ra) was not aware about this (completely) whereas Ibn Abbas (ra) was, So when Ibn Abbas (ra) is proving it while some others are doing Nafi of it then It is a (Principle) that Masbat (Proof) takes over Nafi (rejection) [Sharah Sahih Muslim, Kitab al Iman, Chapter in meaning of :He saw him at the second descent]
Words cannot comprehend this wonderful explanation!
Proof on (d) i.e. the 2 ahadith which Usman used from Sahih Muslim actually firmly prove that Prophet (Peace be upon him) saw Allah and It is misinterpretation of Ibn Qayyim to give wrong taweel over them.
Once again Jazak Allahu Khayrun Usman for providing the original Arabic transliteration of those 2 ahadith of Sahih Muslim. I will give translation word by word so that everyone understands easily
The first hadith has this wording
a) Nur-Un = He is Light
b) Anna = I, myself, me
c) Ara = Saw
d) Hu = Him
Usman blindly relied on Ibn Qayyim and said: Of the first answer of the Holy Prophet Ibn al-Qayyim has given this meaning in his Zad al-Ma ad: "Between me and the sight of my Lord there was Light,"
Proven from same Abu Dhar (ra) on Sight!
The wording which Usman showed is found "NOWHERE" in actual wording of Hadith of Sahih Muslim, rather the literal and actual wording of Hadith firmly proves that the Prophet (Peace be upon him) saw Allah
Now let us look at the Arabic of second hadith!
“ Ra 'aitu nur-an
a) - Ra’aitu = I Saw -
b) Nur-an = Nur/Light -
It does not say anywhere in that hadith as Usman showed: I did not see my Lord but only a Light… that is nothing but a forgery too.
Alhamdulillah the same 2 ahadith themselves prove that Prophet (Peace be upon him) saw Allah, plus It is narrated by Abu Dhar (ra) who himself believed that Prophet (Peace be upon him) saw Allah, here is the proof
روى شريك عن أبي ذر رضي الله عنه في تفسير الآية ، قال : رأى النبي صلى الله عليه و سلم ربه
Translation: Narrated by Sharik from Abu Dhar (Radhi Allaho Anho) who said in Tafsir of the ayah (of Surah Najm):The Prophet (Peace be upon him) Saw his Lord [Qadhi Iyaad in as-Shifa, Page No. 105]
Proof (e) Your claim of Hadith from Abu Musa
You quoted hadith from Sahih Muslim as: Hadrat Abu Musa al-Ash`ari: "The Holy Prophet said: The sight of no one from among His creatures has reached Allah Almighty."
Could you please give me exact reference of this (although you have not given references of many ahadith which you showed) because according to my knowledge such a wording is present nowhere in Kitab al Iman of Sahih Muslim through Abu Musa (correct me If I am wrong by giving reference)
Proof (f) You yourself showed the sahih Hadith of Bukhari which porves that Prophet (Peace be upon him) saw Allah, I do not have to repeat this as I have already proven from Tafsir of Ibn Jawzi that the hadith is Sahih narrated by both Bukhari and Muslim.
Citing overwhelming more proofs!
In the end I would just like to give some more proofs
*Proof # 1*
Ibn Shihab said: Ibn Hazm told me that Ibn 'Abbas and Abd Habba al-Ansari used to say that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Thereafter he ascended with me till I was taken to such a height where I heard the scraping of the pens (of Taqdir) Ibn Hazm and Anas told that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Allah then made fifty prayers obligatory for my Ummah and I returned with that and passed by Moses. Moses, (peace be upon him) said: What has thy Lord enjoined on thy people? I said: Fifty prayers have been made obligatory on them. Moses (peace be upon him) said: Return to thy Lord(فراجع ربك), for thy Ummah would not be able to bear this burden. Then I came back to my Lord(فراجعت ربي) and He remitted a portion out of thut. I then again went to Moses (peace be upon him) and informed him about it He said: Return to thy Lord(راجع ربك),, for thy Ummah shall not be able to bear this burden. I then went back to my Lord(فراجعت ربي) and He said: They are five and at the same time fifty, and what has been said will not be changed. I then returned to Moses and he said: Go back to thy Lord. whereupon I said: I feel ashamed of my Lord(قد استحييت من ربي)[Sahih Muslim, Hadith No. 313 – Agreed upon]
This hadith decicively proves that Prphet (Peace be upon him) saw Allah because everything Musa (a.s) told him to “RETURN TO HIS LORD” and finally the Prophet said: “I FEEL ASHAMED OF MY LORD”
Proof # 2
عن ابن عباس قال
رأى محمد ربه قلت أليس الله يقول
لا تدركه الأبصار وهو يدرك الأبصار
قال ويحك ذاك إذا تجلى بنوره الذي هو نوره وقال أريه مرتين
قال أبو عيسى هذا حديث حسن
Yet another great Sharh of Bukhari !
Translation: Ibn Abbas (ra) said that Muhammad (salallaho alaihi wasalam) saw his Lord, (Ikrama) asked: Hasn’t Allah said that Eyes cannot “COMPREHEND” him, at this (Ibn Abbas) replied: Strange that you have not understood, this is when Allah shows glimpse of his own Nur (which cannot be comprehended), so Prophet (saw) saw Allah twice [Sunnan Tirimdh, Tafsir of Surah al-Najm, Hadith No. 3201] – Imam Tirimdhi declared this hadith as “Hassan”*Proof # 3*
Sheikh Muhadith Haq Dhelvi (rahimuhullah) writes: Ibn Umar(ra) turned to Ibn Abbas (ra) regarding this matter and asked whether the Prophet (saw) has seen his Lord, Ibn Abbas replied in affirmative, Ibn Umar (ra) accepted this and did not reject it [Ashaat ul Lamaat, Volume No. 4, Page No. 431]
Now It is proven from yet another Mujtahid Sahabi i.e. Ibn Umar (ra) that Prophet (Peace be upon him) saw Allah!
*Proof # 4*
Imam Badr ud din Ayni (Rahimuhullah) the commentator of Bukhari said:
روى ابن خزيمة بإسناد قوي عن أنس قال رأى محمد ربه وبه قال سائر أصحاب ابن عباس وكعب الأحبار والزهري وصاحب معمر وآخرون وحكى عبد الرزاق عن معمر عن الحسن أنه حلف أن محمدا رأى ربه وأخرج ابن خزيمة عن عروة بن الزبير إثباتها
Translation: Ibn Khuazaima (rah) narrated with “strong chain” from Anas bin Malik (ra) that he said: Muhammad (salallaho alaihi wasalam) saw his Lord, same is narrated from Ibn Abbas (ra) and his disciples like K’ab al Ahbar (ra), Zuhiri (rah) and Ma’mar (rah), Imam Abdur Razzaq (rah) narrates from Ma’mar who quotes Imam Hassan Basri (rah) who used to say: I Swear that Muhammad (salallaho alaihi wassalam) saw his Lord, Ibn Khuzaima (rah) has also proven it (sight of Allah) from Urwa bin Zubayr (ra) [Umdat al Qari, Sharah Sahih al Bukhari, Volume No. 19, Page No. 198]
Do you doubt the Vision of Muhammad? (Saw)
*Proof # 5*
Imam Badr ud din Ayni (rah) also explains:
وروى الطبراني في (الأوسط) بإسناد قوي عن ابن عباس قال رأى محمد ربه مرتين ومن وجه آخر قال نظر محمد إلى ربه جعل الكلام لموسى والخلة لإبراهيم والنظر لمحمد فظهر من ذلك أن مراد ابن عباس ههنا رؤيا العين
Translation:Imam Tabarani (rah) narrates in his (Al Awsat) with “Strong chain” from Ibn Abbas (ra) who said that Prophet (saw) saw his Lord twice, the reason for this saying is that Muhammad (saw) saw his Lord with his eyesight, because Musa (a.s) talked to Allah directly, Ibrahim (a.s) was taken as His friend and Muhammad (salallaho alaihi wasalam) was chosen for sight (no other Prophet was), apparently what Ibn Abbas (ra) means to say is that Prophet (saw) saw Allah with his eyes [Umdat al Qari, Sharah Sahih al Bukhari, Volume No. 17, Page No. 30]
*Proof # 6*
Imam Nasai’i (Rahimuhullah) and Hakim (Rahimuhullah) narrate with Sahih Isnad:
أخبرنا إسحاق بن إبراهيم قال أخبرنا معاذ بن هشام قال حدثني أبي عن قتادة عن عكرمة عن بن عباس قال أتعجبون أن تكون الخلة لإبراهيم والكلام لموسى والرؤية لمحمد صلى الله عليه وسلم
Translation: Ibn Abbas (ra) narrates: Are you surprised at friendship of Ibrahim (a.s) [with Allah], The Speech of Musa (directly with Allah) and Sight of Muhammad (Salallaho alaihi wasalam)? [Sunnan Nasai’I al Kubra in Amal al Yawm wal Laylah , Volume No.6, Hadith No.11539, Mustadrak ala Sahihayn, Volume No. 1, Hadith No. 216]
Imam Hakim (rah) after narrating it said:
هذا حديث صحيح على شرط البخاري
Translation: This Hadith is Sahih on the criteria of Bukhari [ibid, Hadith No. 216]
The Madhab of Vast majority!
Imam Ibn Hajr al Asqalani (Rahimuhullah) said:
ما أخرجه النسائي بإسناد صحيح وصححه الحاكم أيضا من طريق عكرمة عن بن عباس قال أتعجبون أن تكون الخلة لإبراهيم والكلام لموسى والرؤية لمحمد
Translation: It is narrated by Nasai’i with “Sahih Isnad” and Hakim also declared it “Sahih” the narration with the chain from Ikrama (rah) who heard Ibn Abbas (ra) say (and he quoted the above hadith) [Fath ul Bari, Sharah Sahih al Bukhari, Volume No. 8, Page No 493]
*Proof # 7
Imam Nawawi (Rahimuhullah) writes under the hadith of Ibn Masud (ra) that (Prophet saw)’s heart did not lie of what it saw means that he saw Jibril (a.s)
هذا الذي قاله عبد الله رضي الله عنه هو مذهبه في الآية , وذهب الجمهور من المفسرين إلى أن المراد أنه رأى ربه سبحانه وتعالى
Translation: This is the saying of Abdullah Ibn Masud (ra) and his Madhab, but the Madhab of vast majority of Mufasireen (including Ibn Abbas) is that Prophet (saw) saw Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’la [Sharah Sahih Muslim by Imam Nawawi, under Kitab al Iman, The mention of Sidra til Muntaha, Hadith No. 254]
Imam Nawawi further states:
فالحاصل أن الراجح عند أكثر العلماء : أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم رأى ربه بعيني رأسه ليلة الإسراء لحديث ابن عباس وغيره مما تقدم . وإثبات هذا لا يأخذونه إلا بالسماع من رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم هذا مما لا ينبغي أن يتشكك فيه
Translation:The result of all (proofs which have been shown) is that it is pre dominantly established amongst many ulama that Prophet (saw) saw Allah with his eyes on the night of Ascension as the hadith from Ibn Abbas (ra) and others have been mentioned before, the proof of which comes from Prophet (saw) hence there should be no doubt about it [Sharah Sahih Muslim, Kitab al Iman, Chapter in meaning of :He saw him at the second descent]
Quran does Nafi of "Idraak" not Sight!
Proof # 8
Imam Nawawi (rah) also said about Aisha (ra) hadith:
فأما احتجاج عائشة بقول الله تعالى : { لا تدركه الأبصار } فجوابه ظاهر , فإن الإدراك هو الإحاطة والله تعالى لا يحاط به , وإذا ورد النص بنفي الإحاطة لا يلزم منه نفي الرؤية بغير إحاطة
Translation: The Proof which Aisha (ra) took (to reject sight of Allah) i.e. {Eyes cannot comprehend him} the apparent answer to this will be that there cannot be Idraak (i.e. complete comprehension, to gather all around, to see all aspects) of Allah, so the Nass (of Quran) does Nafi of Al-Ihaat but this does not do Nafi of sight without Ihaata (i.e. complete comprehension) [Ibid]
Proof # 9 Imam Ibn Jarir (rah) writes under: The (Prophet's) (mind and) heart in no way falsified that which he saw. (53:11)
عيسى بن عبيد، قال: سمعت عكرِمة، وسُئل هل رأى محمد ربه، قال نعم، قد رأى ربه.
Translation: Isa bin Ubaid (rah) said: Ikrama (rah) was questioned about Muhammad (salallaho alaihi wasalam) seeing the Lord? He said: YES! HE SAW HIS LORD [Tafsir at Tabri under 53:11]
Proof # 10 (Marfu Hadith)
Imam Tabri proves from Prophet (Peace be upon him) himself as:
عن عطاء، عن ابن عباس، قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: " رأَيْتُ رَبِي فِي أحْسَنَ صُورَةٍ
Translation: From Ata (rah) who narrated from Ibn Abbas (ra) who said that Prophet (Salallaho alaihi wasalam) said: I saw Allah in his best of form (which Allah and Apostle know best)[Tafsir at Tabri under 53:11]
The Proohet saw Allah in the best form!
The best statement on the issue is of Shaykh Muhyi al-Din ibn Arabi (Allah have mercy on him). He said: This world is that which is below the heavens and anything above the heavens is considered to be part of the next world (akhira).Hence, the vision of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) will not be considered a vision of this world; rather it is a vision of the next world, and there is no disagreement concerning the vision of the hereafter. Hence, this vision of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) was also a type of the vision of the hereafter. (See: Ma'arif al-Qur'an, 3/412)
Source of this specific quote is: Sunnipath
And I would like to end with the scan proof of magnificent hadith in Sunnah Tirimdhi (Authenticated as Hassan Sahih by both Imam Bukhari and Imam Tirimdhi)
Here is the hadith
It states: … Lo I found myself in the presence of my Lord, the Blessed and the Glorious, in the best form. He said: Muhammad! I said: At Thy service... [Sunnan Tirimdhi, Volume No. 5, Page No. 966, Published by Maktabba al Asriyyah, Beirut, Lebanon]
This also proves that Prophet (Peace be upon him) has seen Allah.