The Evidence That Allah Is in the Sky
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The second question of Fatwa No. ( 17522 )
Q 2: What is the evidence that Allah is in the sky ?
A 2: The belief of the people of the Sunnah and the community is that Allah the Exalted is in the sky, above the Throne, as He, Glorified and Exalted is He, informed us of this in His saying:[Al-Mulk 67:16-17] , and His saying, the Exalted: [Fatir 35:10]
And His saying:[As-Sajdah 32:5], and His saying, Exalted is He, in Surat Taha: [Taha 20:5], and His saying, Exalted is He: [Al-A'raf 7:54] the verse. In seven places in the Book of Allah. And in the authentic hadith of the Khawarij , His saying, peace and blessings be upon him: Sahih al-Bukhari 4351, Mishkat al-Masabih 3303 narrated by Muslim . And His saying, peace and blessings be upon him: Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1924Hasan (Darussalam) narrated by Ahmad and Abu Dawud and al-Tirmidhi . And he said: This is a good, authentic hadith. And al-Hakim authenticated it, and he was agreed with by al-Dhahabi,
and other hadiths. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah said: (But that does not mean that Allah is inside the sky, and that the skies contain and encompass Him, for no one from the Salaf of the Ummah and its imams has said this. Rather, they are in agreement that Allah is above His heavens, upon His Throne, distinct from His creation. There is nothing of His essence in His creations, and there is nothing of His creations in His essence... Then he quoted the saying of Imam Malik : That Allah is above the sky, and His knowledge is everywhere... until he said, Malik : Whoever believes that Allah is inside the sky, contained and surrounded by it, and that He is in need of the Throne or any of the creations other than the Throne, or that His rising above His Throne is like the rising of a created being upon his chair - he is a misguided innovator and ignorant. And whoever believes that there is no God above the heavens to be worshipped, and no Lord upon the Throne to be prayed to and prostrated to, and that Muhammad was not raised to his Lord and the Qur'an did not descend from Him - he is a denier of the divine attributes, a Pharaonic misguided innovator). End of quote. (Al-Fatawa 5/258). And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and his Companions.
Q 2: What is the evidence that Allah is in the sky ?
A 2: The belief of the people of the Sunnah and the community is that Allah the Exalted is in the sky, above the Throne, as He, Glorified and Exalted is He, informed us of this in His saying:
(16) Do you feel secure that He who [holds authority] in the heaven would not cause the earth to swallow you and suddenly it would sway? (17) Or do you feel secure that He who [holds authority] in the heaven would not send against you a storm of stones? Then you would know how [severe] was My warning.
أَأَمِنْتُمْ مَنْ فِي السَّمَاءِ أَنْ يَخْسِفَ بِكُمُ الأَرْضَ فَإِذَا هِيَ تَمُورُ (16) أَمْ أَمِنْتُمْ مَنْ فِي السَّمَاءِ أَنْ يُرْسِلَ عَلَيْكُمْ حَاصِبًا فَسَتَعْلَمُونَ كَيْفَ نَذِيرِTo Him ascends good speech, and righteous work raises it
إِلَيْهِ يَصْعَدُ الْكَلِمُ الطَّيِّبُ وَالْعَمَلُ الصَّالِحُ يَرْفَعُهُAnd His saying:
He arranges [each] matter from the heaven to the earth; then it will ascend to Him
يُدَبِّرُ الأَمْرَ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ إِلَى الأَرْضِ ثُمَّ يَعْرُجُ إِلَيْهِThe Most Merciful [who is] above the Throne established.
الرَّحْمَنُ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَىIndeed, 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 وَالأَرْضَ فِي سِتَّةِ أَيَّامٍ ثُمَّ اسْتَوَى عَلَى الْعَرْشِDon'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 ومساءًhe asked her where God was and she replied that He was in heaven. He asked her who he was and she replied that he was God’s Messenger. He then told me to set her free, for she was a believer.
وقوله صلى الله عليه وسلم للجارية: أين الله؟ فقالت: في السماء. قال: من أنا؟ قالت: أنت رسول الله، قال: أعتقها فإنها مؤمنةThe merciful are shown mercy by Ar-Rahman. Be merciful on the earth, and you will be shown mercy from Who is above the heavens.
الراحمون يرحمهم الرحمن، ارحموا من في الأرض يرحمكم من في السماءand other hadiths. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah said: (But that does not mean that Allah is inside the sky, and that the skies contain and encompass Him, for no one from the Salaf of the Ummah and its imams has said this. Rather, they are in agreement that Allah is above His heavens, upon His Throne, distinct from His creation. There is nothing of His essence in His creations, and there is nothing of His creations in His essence... Then he quoted the saying of Imam Malik : That Allah is above the sky, and His knowledge is everywhere... until he said, Malik : Whoever believes that Allah is inside the sky, contained and surrounded by it, and that He is in need of the Throne or any of the creations other than the Throne, or that His rising above His Throne is like the rising of a created being upon his chair - he is a misguided innovator and ignorant. And whoever believes that there is no God above the heavens to be worshipped, and no Lord upon the Throne to be prayed to and prostrated to, and that Muhammad was not raised to his Lord and the Qur'an did not descend from Him - he is a denier of the divine attributes, a Pharaonic misguided innovator). End of quote. (Al-Fatawa 5/258). And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and his Companions.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.