Attributing the term "place" to Allah the Exalted
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Question:
Honorable Shaykh, he says: Ibn al-Qayyim said, "And Allah is above every place." Is it permissible to say that Allah is in a place?
Answer:
He said that Allah is in the height. As for "place," the matter is ambiguous. If by "place" one means that the place contains and surrounds Him, and that Allah is inside the universe, then this is invalid. If by "place" one means the height, then yes, this is true. This is because the term "place" did not come in the invalid sense, nor did it descend. But we ask the one who said it: what did he intend by "place"? If he intended that Allah is in a place in the sense that He is inside the creation and that the place surrounds Him, this is a direct error, and Allah is exalted above that. For Allah is greater than everything. Allah the Exalted said: He is not in a state within His creation, and nothing of His creation is in a state within His essence, Glorified and Exalted is He. He is manifest, and therefore the scholars say He is manifest in His creation, Glorified and Exalted is He.
As for if by "place" one means the height and what is above the created things, then yes, this is true.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you,
Honorable Shaykh, he says: Ibn al-Qayyim said, "And Allah is above every place." Is it permissible to say that Allah is in a place?
Answer:
He said that Allah is in the height. As for "place," the matter is ambiguous. If by "place" one means that the place contains and surrounds Him, and that Allah is inside the universe, then this is invalid. If by "place" one means the height, then yes, this is true. This is because the term "place" did not come in the invalid sense, nor did it descend. But we ask the one who said it: what did he intend by "place"? If he intended that Allah is in a place in the sense that He is inside the creation and that the place surrounds Him, this is a direct error, and Allah is exalted above that. For Allah is greater than everything. Allah the Exalted said: He is not in a state within His creation, and nothing of His creation is in a state within His essence, Glorified and Exalted is He. He is manifest, and therefore the scholars say He is manifest in His creation, Glorified and Exalted is He.
As for if by "place" one means the height and what is above the created things, then yes, this is true.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you,
Source
شرح نونية ابن القيم [52] — alfawzan.live (1:14:34)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.