LessonsVision of God: Possibility, Evidence, Objections and TranscendenceQuiz

وُجُوهٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ نَاضِرَةٌ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهَا نَاظِرَةٌ
Faces on that Day will be radiant, looking toward their Lord. (Qur’an 75:22–23)

“Some faces that Day will be radiant, looking toward their Lord” appears in a passage about the reward of the Hereafter. Sunni theologians take the construction nāẓirah ilā as evidence supporting actual vision.

The two similar words must be distinguished: nāḍirah concerns radiance, whereas nāẓirah concerns looking. Their phonetic resemblance does not erase their different meanings. The dispute concerns the second expression’s grammatical indication and whether a figurative reading is justified.

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The Qur’anic evidence from the faces looking to their Lord

Vision of God: Possibility, Evidence, Objections and Transcendence

وُجُوهٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ نَاضِرَةٌ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهَا نَاظِرَةٌ
Faces on that Day will be radiant, looking toward their Lord. (Qur’an 75:22–23)

“Some faces that Day will be radiant, looking toward their Lord” appears in a passage about the reward of the Hereafter. Sunni theologians take the construction nāẓirah ilā as evidence supporting actual vision.

The two similar words must be distinguished: nāḍirah concerns radiance, whereas nāẓirah concerns looking. Their phonetic resemblance does not erase their different meanings. The dispute concerns the second expression’s grammatical indication and whether a figurative reading is justified.