To see Allah

God is outside of things, but not in the sense of being alien to them; and He is inside of things, but not in the sense of being identical with them. - IMAM ALI

Excerpt From: Secrets of Divine Love. “A. Helwa.”

I am reminded of the ayah in the Holy Quran where Allah ﷻ tells us:

 لَّا تُدْرِكُهُ ٱلْأَبْصَـٰرُ وَهُوَ يُدْرِكُ ٱلْأَبْصَـٰرَ ۖ وَهُوَ ٱللَّطِيفُ ٱلْخَبِيرُ

“Vision does not encompass Him; He encompasses vision. He is above all comprehension, yet is acquainted with all things.”

QUR’AN 6:103

Basar means vision or the ability to see and means to grasp or perceive something. Thus, having known what the two words mean, one can conclude that the whole of Allah's ﷻ creation will never be able to comprehend the sight of our Lord. We will never, in this world, be able to witness our Lord in a way that would encompass His Almighty Being. "وَهُوَ ٱللَّطِيفُ ٱلْخَبِيرُ" He is, however, of all things aware and watches over the entirety of His creation. 

Our beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ has said:

حَدَّثَنَا عُمَرُ بْنُ حَفْصٍ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبِي، حَدَّثَنَا الأَعْمَشُ، سَمِعْتُ أَبَا صَالِحٍ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ قَالَ قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ "‏ يَقُولُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى أَنَا عِنْدَ ظَنِّ عَبْدِي بِي، وَأَنَا مَعَهُ إِذَا ذَكَرَنِي، فَإِنْ ذَكَرَنِي فِي نَفْسِهِ ذَكَرْتُهُ فِي نَفْسِي، وَإِنْ ذَكَرَنِي فِي مَلأٍ ذَكَرْتُهُ فِي مَلأٍ خَيْرٍ مِنْهُمْ، وَإِنْ تَقَرَّبَ إِلَىَّ بِشِبْرٍ تَقَرَّبْتُ إِلَيْهِ ذِرَاعًا، وَإِنْ تَقَرَّبَ إِلَىَّ ذِرَاعًا تَقَرَّبْتُ إِلَيْهِ بَاعًا، وَإِنْ أَتَانِي يَمْشِي أَتَيْتُهُ هَرْوَلَةً ‏

Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Allah says: 'I am just as My slave thinks I am, (i.e. I am able to do for him what he thinks I can do for him) and I am with him if He remembers Me. If he remembers Me in himself, I too, remember him in Myself; and if he remembers Me in a group of people, I remember him in a group that is better than they; and if he comes one span nearer to Me, I go one cubit nearer to him; and if he comes one cubit nearer to Me, I go a distance of two outstretched arms nearer to him; and if he comes to Me walking, I go to him running.' "

Sahih al-Bukhari 7405 

Subhan Allah our Lord is the Most Merciful. 

We, as His humble slaves, are told that He is to us what we think of Him. If we perceive Allah as our hope and means of provision, that is who He is. If we see Allah ﷻ as our Master and Guide, that is who He is. We are encouraged to pray and praise our Lord by His beautiful names (Asma Al Husna). 

Amir Al Mu'mineen Imam Ali was asked by Dhi'lib al-Yamani if he had seen Allah. Imam Ali responded by asking Dhi'lib how he can worship someone he hasn't seen to which Dhi'lib asked once again, "How have you seen Him?" 

In the following lines, I have pasted the eloquent pearls of faith from Imam Ali's sermon (179).  

 لاَ تُدْرِكُهُ الْعُيُونُ بِمُشَاهَدَةِ الْعِيَانِ، وَلكِنْ تُدْرِكُهُ الْقُلُوبُ بِحَقَائِقِ الاْيمَانِ، قَرِيبٌ مِنَ الاْشْيَاءِ غَيْرُ مُلاَمِس، بَعِيدٌ مِنْهَا غَيْرُ مُبَايِن، مُتَكَلِّمٌ بِلاَ رَوِيَّة، مُرِيدٌ بِلاَ هِمَّة، صَانِعٌ لاَ بِجَارِحَة، لَطِيفٌ لاَ يُوصَفُ بِالْخَفَاءِ، كَبِيرٌ لاَ يُوصَفُ بِالْجَفَاءِ، بَصِيرٌ لاَ يُوصَفُ بِالْحَاسَّةِ، رَحِيمٌ لاَ يُوصَفُ بِالرِّقَّةِ، تَعْنُو الْوُجُوهُ لِعَظَمَتِهِ، وَتَجِبُ الْقُلُوبُ مِنْ مَخَافَتِهِ

Eyes cannot see Him face to face, but hearts perceive Him through the realities of belief. He is near to things but not (physically) contiguous. He is far from them but not (physically) separate. He is a speaker, but not with reflection. He intends, but not with preparation. He moulds, but not with (the assistance of) limbs. He is subtle but cannot be attributed with being concealed. He is great but cannot be attributed with haughtiness. He sees but cannot be attributed with the sense (of sight). He is Merciful but cannot be attributed with weakness of heart. Faces feel low before His greatness and hearts tremble out of fear of Him.

This sermon delivered by Imam Ali describes Allah's greatness. 

To see Allah, we must open our hearts, for it is our hearts that can only witness Him through the various realities of belief presented to us by life and what it means to live. We are told that Allah ﷻ is near but he is not physically present bounded by time and shape. To see Allah, we must not attribute anything to Him because He is One and Everything. Allah is as we perceive Him and He is as we remember Him. 

Quite unfortunately, my humanity is bounded to the 26 letters of the English language which chain me from being able to describe my Lord's true majesty.