The Shaykh’s response to those who weakened the hadith of the girl to whom the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: “Where is Allah?”

The Shaykh: This is the hadith: . She said: “In the sky.” He said to her: . She said: “You are the Messenger of Allah.” This hadith was narrated by Imam Muslim in his *Sahih*, by Imam Malik in his *Muwatta*, by Imam Ahmad in his *Musnad*, and by as many other Imams as you wish. Ten of the preservers of hadith authenticated it explicitly, and the jurists used it as evidence, and so on. Then some of the later generations, whose beliefs are confused and deviant from the Book and the Sunnah in the sense we explained earlier—believing in the attributes without likening Allah to creation and without denying the divine attributes—said: “This hadith indicates that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is in the sky, but Allah is not in the sky. Allah is greater! Our Lord says in the Noble Qur’an: .”
The matter reached those who weakened this hadith to the point where they said: “Do you feel safe from the One in the sky?” in the belief of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance. This is how they interpreted the verse! This is how they manipulate the Qur’an, this is how they deny the Qur’an of its explicit meanings. Why? Because they understood the preposition *fi* (in) here as a preposition of location, whereas it is not a preposition of location. means: Who is inside the sky? Far be it from Allah! That is not the intended meaning. means: Who is above the sky. This is how our righteous predecessors interpreted the verse, including Imam al-Bayhaqi in his book *Al-Asma' wa al-Sifat* in his book *Al-I'tiqad*, and among them Ibn al-Jawzi in his tafsir *Zad al-Masir*, and as many of the predecessors as you wish. means: Who is above the sky. Allah is greater! How much deviation has befallen the Muslims, but we praise Allah that Islam remains standing, because Allah has guaranteed the preservation of His Book and Sunnah.
Some of those who denied the hadith of the girl because she answered with the explicit answer of faith in the Qur’an reached the point of denying another hadith, which is authentic, because it confirms first that Allah—as He said—is in the sky, and second that *fi* is not a preposition of location, but means *ala* (above). This is a well-known and famous matter in the language. He (Glorified and Exalted is He) said, recounting the words of Pharaoh when he threatened the magicians with death, saying to them: , . Does *fi* mean inside the trunks of the palm trees? Meaning he opens the trunk lengthwise and crushes them inside? No, but rather *ala* means above, like being crucified completely. Similarly, , . Does it mean: Go, you living worms, you snakes?! No, means: On the earth. And there is much, much of this expression.
The hadith came to confirm this meaning of *fi* as *ala* (above). He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . Do you mean have mercy on the worms in the earth?! No, “who is in the earth” means: among yourselves, the merciful ones, the Most Merciful will have mercy on them. Have mercy on yourselves as human beings, and have mercy on the animals, as came in many hadiths commanding gentleness with animals. This is , meaning: Who is above the earth. , meaning: Who is above the sky. At that time, the verse: aligns with all the verses we listed before the 'Isha' prayer, or rather, we listed some of them, including: , including: . All these texts were denied by the ruling of reason, so one of them said and their misguidance said: “Allah is not inside the world nor outside it.” May Allah have mercy on that wise prince who said: “These are a people who have lost their Lord.” What is non-existent? It is that which is not inside the world nor outside it. So they worship a non-existent thing, as Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “The one who likens Allah to creation worships an idol, and the one who denies the attributes worships non-existence.” Allah is not inside the world nor outside it. Allah is greater!
Where is Allah? My brother, Allah is as He was before the creation of the universe, so He is as He was before the creation of the universe. When He created the universe, either He is above the universe, or the universe is above Him, and this undoubtedly contradicts His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He): . Or it is as the extremists of the Sufis say: He created the universe and hid in it, and became like the cocoon with the silkworm in it! Far be it from Allah from what the wrongdoers say, in great exaltation.
In summary, then, you have known the answer, if Allah wills. What is it?

The questioner: Allah is above the sky.

The Shaykh: Ah, but , He is not in a place.
In the name of Allah.