The Exaltedness of Allah the Exalted above the heavens
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Q52: It is the belief of the people of the Sunnah and the community that Allah is in the sky. What is meant by the sky? Is it the lowest heaven or the seventh heaven?
A52: The belief of the people of the Sunnah and the community is that Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) is above His creation, having risen above His Throne with His Essence. His Throne is above the seventh heaven, and He is distinct from His creation. His rising is befitting His Majesty and Greatness. He is not inside the universe, but rather separate and distinct from it. So Allah has risen above His Throne, and His Throne is above the seventh heaven. The Book and the Sunnah indicate this. Allah the Exalted said:[Al-A'raf 7:54], the verse. And Allah the Exalted said: [Taha 20:5]. And Allah the Exalted said: [Hud 11:7]. Among the things indicating His exaltedness above His creation is the descent of the Qur'an from Him, for descent does not occur except from above to below. Allah the Exalted said: [Al-Ma'idah 5:48], the verse.
And Allah the Exalted said:[Ghafir 40:1-2]. And Allah the Exalted said: , and other verses indicating the exaltedness of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) and that He has risen above His Throne. In the hadith of Mu'awiyah ibn al-Hakam al-Sulami , he said: Sahih Muslim 537a. It was narrated by Muslim , Abu Dawud , al-Nasa'i , and others. In the two Sahihs, from the hadith of Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him), he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sahih al-Bukhari 4351. Among the things indicating that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has risen above His Throne above the seventh heaven is the hadith of al-Abbas ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
. It was narrated by Abu Dawud , and others.
A52: The belief of the people of the Sunnah and the community is that Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) is above His creation, having risen above His Throne with His Essence. His Throne is above the seventh heaven, and He is distinct from His creation. His rising is befitting His Majesty and Greatness. He is not inside the universe, but rather separate and distinct from it. So Allah has risen above His Throne, and His Throne is above the seventh heaven. The Book and the Sunnah indicate this. Allah the Exalted said:
Indeed, your Lord is Allah, who created the heavens and earth in six days and then established Himself above the Throne
إِنَّ رَبَّكُمُ اللَّهُ الَّذِي خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ فِي سِتَّةِ أَيَّامٍ ثُمَّ اسْتَوَى عَلَى الْعَرْشِThe Most Merciful [who is] above the Throne established.
الرَّحْمَنُ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَىAnd it is He who created the heavens and the earth in six days - and His Throne had been upon water
وَهُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ فِي سِتَّةِ أَيَّامٍ وَكَانَ عَرْشُهُ عَلَى الْمَاءِAnd We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], the Book in truth, confirming that which preceded it of the Scripture and as a criterion over it
وَأَنْزَلْنَا إِلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ بِالْحَقِّ مُصَدِّقًا لِمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ وَمُهَيْمِنًا عَلَيْهِAnd Allah the Exalted said:
(1) Ha, Meem. (2) The revelation of the Book is from Allah, the Exalted in Might, the Knowing.
حم (1) تَنْزِيلُ الْكِتَابِ مِنَ اللَّهِ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِHa-Mim. A revelation from the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy
حم (1) تَنْزِيلٌ مِنَ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِI had a maid-servant who tended goats by the side of Uhud and Jawwaniya. One day I happened to pass that way and found that a wolf had carried a goat from her flock. I am after all a man from the posterity of Adam. I felt sorry as they (human beings) feel sorry. So I slapped her. I came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and felt (this act of mine) as something grievous I said: Messenger of Allah, should I not grant her freedom? He (the Holy Prophet) said: Bring her to me. So I brought her to him. He said to her: Where is Allah? She said: He is in the heaven. He said: Who am I? She said: Thou art the Messenger of Allah. He said: Grant her freedom, she is a believing woman.
كانت لي جارية ترعى غنما لي قبل أحد والجوانية ، فاطلعت ذات يوم فإذا الذئب قد ذهب بشاة من غنمها ، وأنا رجل من بني آدم آسف كما يأسفون ، لكني صككتها صكة ، فأتيت رسول الله - صلى الله عليه وسلم - فعظم ذلك علي ، قلت : يا رسول الله : أفلا أعتقها ؟ قال : ائتني بها فأتيته بها ، فقال لها : أين الله ؟ قالت : في السماء ، قال : من أنا ؟ قالت : أنت رسول الله ، قال : أعتقها فإنها مؤمنةDon't you trust me though I am the truth worthy man of the One in the Heavens, and I receive the news of Heaven (i.e. Divine Inspiration) both in the morning and in the evening?
ألا تأمنوني وأنا أمين من في السماء ، يأتيني خبر السماء صباحًا ومساءDo you know how much is between the sky and the earth? We said: Allah and His Messenger know best. He said: Between them is a journey of five hundred years, and from each sky to the next sky is a journey of five hundred years, and the thickness of each sky is a journey of five hundred years. And between the seventh sky and the Throne is a sea, the distance between its bottom and its top being like the distance between the sky and the earth. And Allah the Exalted is above that, and nothing of the deeds of the sons of Adam is hidden from Him
هل تدرون كم بين السماء والأرض ؟ قلنا : الله ورسوله أعلم ، قال : بينهما مسيرة خمسمائة سنة ، ومن كل سماء إلى سماء مسيرة خمسمائة سنة ، وكثف كل سماء مسيرة خمسمائة سنة ، وبين السماء السابعة والعرش بحر بين أسفله وأعلاه كما بين السماء والأرض ، والله تعالى فوق ذلك ، وليس يخفى عليه شيء من أعمال بني آدم
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.