Has Prophet (ﷺ) seen Allah in his lifetime as some say?

Shaykh-ul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy upon him) answered this question. He said:

“With regard to seeing Allah, what was proven in the Saheeh (al-Bukhari) from Ibn ‘Abbas is that he said: “Muhammad (ﷺ) saw his Lord with his heart twice,” and ‘A’ishah denied that he had seen Him. Some people reconciled these two reports by saying that ‘A’ishah denied that he saw Him with his eyes and Ibn ‘Abbas affirmed that he saw Him with his heart.”

Some versions of the report narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas refers to seeing without specifying how, and others indicate that it was with the heart. Sometimes he says that Muhammad (ﷺ) saw his Lord, and sometimes he says that Muhammad (ﷺ) saw Him. There is no clear statement from Ibn ‘Abbas which says that he saw Him with his eyes.

Similarly Imam Ahmad sometimes says that he saw Him and sometimes says that he saw Him with his heart. No one whom Ahmad heard said that he saw Him with his eyes. But some of his companions heard some of the words that did not specify how, and understood from that, that he had seen Him with his eyes, just as some people heard the words of Ibn ‘Abbas that did not specify how, and understood from that, that he had seen Him with his eyes.

But there is nothing in the evidence to prove that he saw Him with his eyes, and that was not narrated from any of the companions. There is nothing in the Qur’an or Sunnah to indicate that, rather the authentic texts which indicate that he did not see Him are more definitive. In Saheeh Muslim it is narrated that Abu Dharr said: “I asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), ‘Did you see your Lord?’ He said, ‘He is veiled with Light, how could I see Him?’”[1] And Allah says:

“Glorified (and Exalted) be He (Allah) [above all that (evil) they associate with Him], Who took His slave (Muhammad) for a journey by night from Al-Masjid Al-Haram to Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa, the neighbourhood whereof We have blessed, in order that We might show him (Muhammad) of Our Ayat (proofs, evidences, lessons, signs, etc.)” [2]

If he had seen Him with his own eyes, He would have mentioned that. The same applies to Allah’s statement:

“Will you then dispute with him (Muhammad) about what he saw [during the Mi’raj]?” [3]

If he had seen Him with his own eyes, that would have been mentioned. It is proven from the authentic texts and from the consensus of the Salaf of this Ummah that no one can see Allah with his eyes in this world, with the exception of the claim made by some that our Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) alone saw Him. But they are agreed that the believers will see Allah on the Day of Resurrection with their own eyes just as they see the sun and the moon (in this world).[4]

References:

[1] Sahih Muslim, Book 1,Hadith 350

[2] Surah al-Isra’, 17:1

[3] Surah al-Najm, 53:12

[4] Majmoo’ al-Fatawa, Vol. 6, p. 509-510