What is the meaning of the saying of Allah the Exalted: “So wherever you turn, there is the Face of Allah”?

The questioner : The questioner says: I argued with someone who believes that Allah is everywhere, and he used the verse as evidence for what he believes. Is his use of this verse as evidence valid?

The Shaykh : The people of falsehood must have a doubt or misconception; the people of falsehood must have a doubt or misconception, even the Christians in their claim that the essence of Allah is such and such have a doubt. They say that Allah says: “Indeed, it is We who sent down the Reminder” Is the pronoun here a plural pronoun or a singular pronoun?
It is a plural pronoun, no, Shaykh. “We” is plural. Every person who holds to falsehood has a doubt, but as for those in whose hearts is deviation, they follow what is ambiguous in it. Those who say that Allah is everywhere—may Allah keep them far from that—and we ask Allah the Exalted to guide them to the truth so that they do not die upon this false belief. We ask Allah to save them. These brothers are drowning, burning in the blazing Fire, in the depths, and in a vast sea, with waves coming over them from above. I ask Allah to guide them and to save them from this false belief. We do not harbor ill will toward them, but we ask Allah to guide them. They use ambiguous verses as evidence, saying that Allah said: “And He is with you wherever you are” It is said: Every person knows that Allah the Exalted is not encompassed by creation. If He were with us, the walls of the room, the walls of the chamber, and the walls of the ceiling would encompass Him. But the meaning is that He is with us by His knowledge, His hearing, His sight, His power, and so on.
Moreover, His saying “with us” does not contradict His being above. One may describe something as being with you while it is above you. Have you not seen that the Arabs in their language say: “We have not stopped walking, and the moon is with us. We have not stopped walking, and the moon is with us.” And where is the position of the moon?
In the sky. They also used incorrect evidence. They said that Allah the Exalted said: We say: If we accepted your claim and your reliance on this verse, then Allah would be two. If Allah were two. How many are they?
Two. So if you hold this belief, then disbelief is clear. And if you say that He is in the sky and on the earth and He is One, we say: This verse does not indicate that meaning. But the meaning is that He is the God of the people of the heavens and the God of the people of the earth. He is the God of the people of the heavens and the God of the people of the earth. The analogy is that you say: So-and-so is the governor in Madinah and in Makkah. Where is his location? Either in Makkah or in Madinah, but his governorship and authority are in Madinah and Makkah. So too with the verse. They said that Allah said: He knows your secrets and your open deeds. We say: The answer is like the first verse. “Allah” means the One who is worshipped, meaning He is the One worshipped in the heavens and on the earth, meaning the One worshipped in the heavens and on the earth. And it is known that Allah the Exalted is worshipped by those in the heavens, the angels, and those on the earth. It is clear. Some of the exegetes said: “And He is Allah in the heavens, certainly.” Then He said: But the first meaning is clearer: that “Allah” means what? The One who is worshipped. And He is Allah, meaning the One worshipped in the heavens and on the earth.
They use the verse mentioned by the questioner as evidence: We say: This verse has two statements from the Salaf. The first statement is that “Face” means direction. It means direction, not the Face of Allah described with majesty and honor. It means: wherever you turn to any direction, then the direction is the one that pleases Allah the Majestic, the Exalted. The analogy is His saying: “And for each one is a direction toward which he turns” Meaning direction. So the meaning is: wherever you turn, your direction is toward the Raa in any place, because the Raa encompasses everything.
And if we say that the intended meaning is the Face of Allah described with majesty and honor, then Allah the Exalted is not likened to anything. He may be facing every worshipper while He is in the sky. And it is known now that we are praying here, and our faces are toward what? We are praying here, and our faces are in a direction in the sky: the east and the west, and our faces are in the north. I tell you, the sun rises from here. So if we pray here, our faces are toward the east. Good. Those behind the Ka'bah pray toward the west. And yet it is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that when the worshipper stands to pray, Allah the Exalted faces his face. He faces the face of every worshipper, wherever their direction is?
You may say: How is that? We say: Say “How is that” if you imagine that the attributes of Allah are like the attributes of creation. But if you believe that Allah is not like anything, do not compare Him to creation. And this is a benefit I hope you will pay attention to. Everything that Allah has informed us about Himself, or His Messenger has informed us about Him, is truth. Do not say “how” or “why,” because the matter is broader than you can imagine. And I ask one of you now, please. What is your soul? The soul. What is your soul? This attribute, and how is it? White, black, long, short? You do not know?
Good. Now, one believes that he does not know what his soul is, and it is the substance of his life; he does not live except by the soul. And yet he does not know what this soul is. And we do not know of the soul except what Allah and His Messenger have informed us of, is that not so? Allah the Exalted said: How beautiful is this criticism! How beautiful is this sting! This transition.
And He says: Look, the criticism is clear and biting, isn't it? It is as if Allah is saying: "What remains for you to learn is only the knowledge of the spirit, and you have missed most of the knowledge." Meaning, are you the ones who are asking about the spirit? Is it the case that all that remains for you is to know the spirit, so that you ask about it and say, "We will not miss out on knowledge"? A little from a lot. If a person does not know himself, does not know the spirit between his two sides, by which he lives if it is present in the body, or dies if it departs from the body, how can he ask about Allah the Exalted? He is the greatest and most noble, beyond the capacity of minds and understandings to encompass. Is that clear? Are you with us? Good.
So it is obligatory upon us, O brothers, to believe in everything by which Allah has described Himself, or by which His Messenger has described Him, whether we comprehend it with our minds or not. Everything that the Qur'an obligates us to believe in, we believe in.

The presenter : May Allah reward you with good.