The Meaning of Allah Being in the Sky and With His Creation

Question:
And the Shaykh, may Allah have mercy on him, said: I accepted this reading that Allah has heard for His own sake, and through His knowledge and His power,

Answer:
There is no warning in it that Allah is above the sky. Do not say “in the sky” unless you mean elevation; “in the sky” means elevation, yes. Or say “above the sky,” which is clearer and further from the implication of being above the sky by His essence. Good. And He is with creation by His knowledge, His encompassing, His seeing, His hearing, and His sight. This does not mean that He is with them by His essence, mixed with them; that is not permissible, yes. We say He is above the sky by His essence and with His creation by His knowledge, hearing, and sight, not by His essence. If we said by His essence, we would be reading into this the doctrine of pantheism, and may Allah protect us from that. Yes.