Affirming the attribute of elevation for Allah (Mighty and Majestic) from a purely theoretical, rational perspective.

The Shaykh : Now, if we take the issue from a purely theoretical, rational perspective: there is no doubt that Allah (Mighty and Majestic), as we mentioned at the beginning of this lecture, was without place and without time. Therefore, from this aspect—meaning, in that He was and was not in a place—He is now as He was, not in a place. So, after He created the created things, we must believe in one of three images: First, that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) created the created things while He was above them and elevated over them. Or, the opposite, that the created things are above Him, which is impossible and contradicts both reason and the Shari'ah, because He is the Most High. Or, it is said, as implied by that common phrase on the tongues of the common people and some of the elite, that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is in every place. This false belief is expressed by one of the words of the extremists of the Sufis when one of them says: "And Allah in the image is like ice in which is water." Can one separate between the water and the ice? The answer is no; the ice is the water and the water is the ice. And so is the Lord and the creation, according to those who say that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is nothing but this universe, as one of them said: "Everything you see with your eye is Allah." That is far-off misguidance. Therefore, by reason and by the Shari'ah, it is necessary to say that Allah is above all the created things. After this, I would now like to hear some observations or objections, if it is correct to say there is an objection, to these texts whose meaning is certain that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is above all the created things.