The Shaykh’s clarification of the meaning of “Where is Allah?”, and a mention of the verses and hadiths that clarify its meaning.

The Shaykh : In that case, this noble verse, which the girl mentioned earlier used to answer the question of the Messenger (peace be upon him): , simply means: Allah is in the sky. In that case, the verse aligns with dozens, and I do not say hundreds, but at least dozens, of texts from the Book and the Sunnah that establish that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) possesses the attribute of absolute elevation. The verses that confirm this meaning—and I hope that no listener of that explanation will think to say, “This is a figurative interpretation (ta'wil)”—this is not a figurative interpretation, but rather the Arabic style, as we have mentioned. This is because this meaning aligns with dozens of texts from the Book and the Sunnah that establish for Allah (Mighty and Majestic) the attribute of absolute elevation above all creation. Among these is the famous verse: . Among these is His saying (Mighty and Majestic): . Among these is: . Among these is: . And among these is: our saying, while we are prostrating to Allah (Mighty and Majestic), placing our foreheads in submission to Him the Exalted: “Glory to my Lord, the Most High.” So, all the verses and hadiths align with the meaning previously mentioned regarding the verse: . In that case, the fundamental answer is that it is not permissible to say: “Allah is in a place,” because a place is a creation among Allah’s creations. Rather, we say that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is above all places and is not in a place. And for that reason, I began my answer by stating that Allah, in that He was not in a place because He existed before He created time and space, is now as He was before. That is: He is not in a place, because Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is the One who is free of need of all the worlds. This is what is said regarding the verse in the Surah of Tabaarak: .