The Hadith of the Girl: He said, "Where is Allah?" She said, "In the sky." Is this an answer regarding spatial elevation or status?

The Shaykh : It is neither this nor that. I mean, this is not a question about place or status. As for status, Allah’s status in terms of His essence is known to all Muslims, and even to disbelievers. As for it not being a question about place, that is because Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has no place. In fact, I feel that the question from this Muslim brother is a lecture, and the reason is that you do not hear these lectures. You hear lectures on politics and economics to the extent that many of you are tired of their repetition, whereas lectures on the core of tawhid (the oneness of Allah), like the one you are about to hear, are necessary. Although I am now forced to be brief because it is time to leave, what is necessary must be said. This question requires a lecture. The answer is that Allah is free from place, by the consensus of all scholars of Islam. Why? Because Allah was, and there was nothing with Him. This is a well-known phrase. The wording of the hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari from ... is: "Allah was, and there was nothing with Him." And there is no doubt that place is a thing; any thing that exists and did not exist before is a thing. If the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Allah was, and there was nothing with Him," it means He was, and there was no place for Him, because He is the One who is free of need from the worlds. This is a fact agreed upon. But, unfortunately, among the deviations that have befallen the Muslims due to their distance from the guidance of the Book and the Sunnah is the creed regarding the essence of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). If you were to ask the masses of Muslims in all Islamic lands—scholars, students of knowledge, and the general public—this Prophetic question, "Where is Allah?" you would find that the positions of Muslims differ greatly in their answer to this question. Some are almost overcome with anger and rage merely at hearing this question, saying, "I seek refuge in Allah, what is this question?" I say to them, "Slow down, my brother. Do you not know who first said this?" They say, "No, we have not heard of it." So I open Sahih Muslim for them and say, "Please, this is Sahih Muslim, the second book after Sahih al-Bukhari, and the third after the Qur'an. The Qur'an, then Sahih al-Bukhari, then Sahih Muslim. Please, it is in Sahih Muslim. It is he who narrated this hadith that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said to the girl, testing her: 'Where is Allah?' She said, 'In the sky.' He said to her, 'Who am I?' She said, 'You are the Messenger of Allah.' He said to her master, 'Free her, for she is a believer.'" He hears the hadith as if he has not lived in Islamic lands, but rather in lands of ignorance, or perhaps he has never held a copy of Sahih Muslim in his time. This is one group of people from among the scholars who have not heard of this question, meaning this hadith has not reached their ears. Others say, "Where is Allah? What is this question? Is it permissible for one to ask, 'Where is Allah?' I do not know what you think." The summary of the research is that he says, "Do you believe in the existence of Allah?" Of course, I say, "Yes, certainly. Allah exists?" Yes. "Well, where is He?" I do not know the answer. The most sacred of the sacred is Allah, and if you ask where He is, I do not know. He is a Muslim. What does it mean to be a Muslim? It means ... The brother’s answer here puts the dot on the 'i'. Being a Muslim is good, but is it the truth or a cover-up? The matter is with him, but most people do not know. Truthful is Allah the Exalted: "Most people do not know." He does not know that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) says . It is as if he has never read this verse. Perhaps he has read it many times, why? Because there are people who worship, perhaps by completing the recitation of the Qur'an every night, contrary to the Sunnah, or every two nights, contrary to the Sunnah. We ... complete the recitation of the Qur'an in accordance with the Sunnah, because perhaps Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has opened a path for knowledge. But this person read, but did he understand what he read? No. So, when our Lord says to you in the Qur'an , is it upon ... from the second group, or upon hearts that have locks? We will mention the hadith. My brother, you all know this hadith, not just us. There is a hadith that says, "The merciful ones, what is its completion?" "The Most Merciful will have mercy on them." What is its completion? "Show mercy to those on earth, and the One in the sky will have mercy on you." This hadith, in modern terms, is a popular hadith. What does "popular" mean? It means everyone knows this hadith. Well, "Show mercy to those on earth, and the One in the sky will have mercy on you." Who is the One in the sky other than Allah? No. Well, how are you? You are asking and objecting to this hadith. I am telling you, Allah exists. Yes. Where is He? You do not know. Why do you not know? You are reading the Qur'an, you are not listening to the hadith, and so on. The problem is that the science of Kalam (theology) entered the matter and corrupted all minds. He read . I do not know. There is no doubt that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is in the sky. Whenever we ask about that hadith, "Show mercy to those on earth, and the One in the sky will have mercy on you," there is no doubt that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is in the sky. But the science of Kalam entered and diverted them from the knowledge of faith. What did they tell them? It is not permissible to say Allah is in the sky. Why? Because Allah is not in a place. Yes, we ... this is a place. And perhaps you have not forgotten that we began speaking about the question by clarifying that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is free of need from place, and "Allah was, and there was no place."
So, make the people understand that the meaning of the verse is affirming place for Allah (Mighty and Majestic), the meaning of the hadith is affirming place for Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and the meaning of the hadith of the girl, "Allah is in the sky," is that Allah is in a place in the sky. This ignorance led them to complete ignorance. It does not mean that when a Muslim believes that Allah is in the sky, he believes that Allah is like a person in a room. Why? Because that is likening Allah to creation. And you have heard among the characteristics and virtues of the Salafi call that it is moderate in everything, between ... between the mushabbihah (those who liken Allah to His creation) who liken Allah to His creation, and the mu'attilah (those who deny the attributes) who deny some of the attributes of their Lord. The Salaf are moderate; they believe in what came in the Book and the Sunnah and purify Him, saying, "There is nothing like Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing." So, when a Muslim believes that Allah is in the sky, as is in the text of the Qur'an and the many hadiths, it does not mean that He is in the sky like a person in a room, like an egg ... in a cocoon, confined to this small house. Far be it from Him (Mighty and Majestic) that it should be so. If not, what does "in the sky" mean? What is the correct meaning?
The sky has meanings in the language. We do not philosophize too much in mentioning them, but among these meanings are the lowest sky, the first, the second, and so on ... And among these meanings is absolute elevation; everything that is above is a sky. So the first and second sky are created celestial bodies. And if we say "Allah is in the sky," it means we have confined Him to a place, and we have said that He is free from place. So how do we understand the answer from the scientific and linguistic perspective, in terms of preposition? If we keep it in its original sense and say "Allah is in the sky," it is necessary to interpret "sky" as absolute elevation, meaning above all created things, where there is no place. Allah is above all created things, where there is no place. In this way, we believe in what Allah (Mighty and Majestic) described Himself with, without likening Him to creation and without denying His attributes. Likening Him to creation is to say, for example, that Allah is in this place, far be it. Denying His attributes is to say, as the mu'attilah say today to the masses of Muslims ... No, Allah is not in the sky. I tell you, your Lord says . You say He is not in the sky. This is disbelief. This is the meaning of the verse if we leave the word in its original sense. Sometimes in the Arabic language, some letters replace others. So "in" here can mean "upon." Therefore, means "upon the sky." If we interpret the sky as the celestial bodies that our Lord created, then He is upon them and above them, and not in any of them, because He is free from place. This is the creed of the Salaf. For that reason, we call upon Muslims to return to the creed of the Salaf and to the methodology of the Salaf, so that they may be straight on the right path, and so that it may be true of them that they have returned to the Prophetic prescription that He made a prescription for the salvation of Muslims from the humiliation that was sought and descended upon them. So return to your religion, O Muslims, all of you, to Allah, to His Book, to the hadith of His Prophet, and to the methodology of the righteous Salaf. And peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.