Mentioning the doubt that led them to this interpretation and refuting it.

The Shaykh : What led them to such an interpretation?
They claimed that they intended to save themselves from attributing to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) being in a place, and they assumed that if a Muslim believes in His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He): meaning: He rose above; they assumed that the meaning of this verse is that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is in a place. This is a false assumption and a void opinion that a Muslim should not be led astray by or be deceived by; for Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) is not in a place, neither before the creation nor after the creation. Allah existed and there was nothing with Him, so Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) is free of need from His creations; for among His attributes, He is the One free of need from all the worlds, as He said: .
So Allah, as we all know, existed and there was nothing with Him and no creation with Him, then He created all the creations. Before He created the creations, He was certainly not in a place; for the place came into existence with the existence of creation, whereas before the existence of creation, there was no place. So Allah existed and there was no creation with Him; meaning: there was no place with Him either. When Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) created the creations, the place came into existence; did He settle in this place? Far be it from our Lord to be poor and in need of anything from His creation. So He (Mighty and Majestic) is, from this perspective, not in a place and not in need of a place. So He is now as He was before the existence of a place. Before the existence of the place, He was not in a place, so He is likewise after the existence of the place not in a place.
This is a self-evident truth, and those who interpret the previous verse, interpreting "istawa" to mean "istawla" (to dominate), are trying to escape from affirming a place for Allah, and this is not the way to escape as it is said:
"Sa'd led them, and Sa'd was wrapped up *** This is not, O Sa'd, how camels are led"
It is obligatory for the Muslim to affirm that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) was not in a place, and that He is likewise not in a place after He created the place. So the Muslim's belief that Allah is above the creations does not mean that He is in a place; for the creations are limited in extent, so everything from the creations is limited. If the creations are limited, then beyond the creations is non-existence, there is no place there. So if we say: Allah existed and there was nothing and no place; then He was not in a place. So He is likewise, as long as He is beyond the creations, not in a place.
So the problem that compelled them to interpret dozens of texts from the Book and the Sunnah is an illusion and imagination; for they imagine that affirming the attribute of being above for Allah means placing Him in a place. The being above, which is an attribute of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), has a relation to the Eternal, Ancient Allah, and has no relation to the created, transient thing that came into existence after it was not.
This created thing is limited, so within its limits are place and time, whereas beyond this created thing there is no place and no time. So what is beyond this created thing?! Nothing but Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He).