The denial by the deniers of the divine attributes of the attribute of elevation for Allah, and the clarification that the denier of attributes worships non-existence while the one who ascribes a body to Allah worships an idol.

The Shaykh : They say that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is not described as being above, and consequently, He is not described as being below. They have explicitly stated absolute negation, saying: Allah is not above, not below, not to the right, not to the left, not in front, not behind, not inside the world, and not outside of it. Some of them added, as some of them said... not connected to it and not separated from it. May Allah curse you! One does not ask by Allah except for a great matter. Tell me, if it were said to a person among the most eloquent of the Arabs: "Describe for us the isolated one who has no existence," would he be able to describe him with more than what these people describe their object of worship with? They say: Allah is not above, not below, not to the right, not to the left, not in front, not behind, not inside the world, and not outside of it. What remains? Only non-existence remains. And some of them added, as you heard, not connected to it and not separated from it. Therefore, pay attention to the danger of this negation. One of the intelligent princes, when he witnessed a discussion between one of the great scholars of the Salaf and many of the sheikhs of the Khalaf, and they debated in his presence—this Salafi affirming for Allah (Mighty and Majestic) the attribute of elevation with many verses, which you do not need us to recite for you, such as —when he heard the affirmation of this Salafi scholar and the denial of those others as you have heard, he said a word that indicated his wisdom and intellect. He said: "These are a people who have lost their Lord." The one who says of his Lord: "Not above, not below, not to the right, not to the left, not inside the world, and not outside of it," undoubtedly they have been ignorant of their object of worship. And here it becomes clear to you how a Muslim can believe in Allah while he purifies Him, in his claim, from being inside the world or outside of it? There is only a created thing or an uncreated thing. And in that case, this Creator is either inside the world or outside the world. If it is said that He is not inside the world and not outside of it, they have judged Him as non-existent. And therefore, that wise prince said: "These are a people who have lost their Lord." This is a reality that we know and hear here in the lands of the Levant on the pulpits. This deniable word regarding the existence of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), I have heard it on the pulpit repeatedly, where they teach the common Muslims this attribute for Allah (Mighty and Majestic), which is negation and absolute denial. And true is the one who said: "The one who ascribes a body to Allah worships an idol, and the denier of attributes worships non-existence." Who is the denier of attributes? He is the one who denies the divine attributes. So this one who says, in his claim of fleeing from likening Allah to creation and ascribing a body to Allah, "Allah is not above, not below," and so on of the major misguidances that you have heard—this is better than that one who ascribes a body to Allah, and both are in misguidance. I say "better" because he affirmed something to worship, whereas this denier of attributes has denied the existence of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) and described Him with an attribute that no person who truly believes in the existence of the Creator would believe in, except that he would believe He is one of two things: either inside the world or outside of it. And the texts from the Book and the Sunnah all came in a mutually supporting manner affirming that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has the attribute of elevation. And we know that all Muslims agree on the reality, even if they differ in its details as we are now, that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has all attributes of perfection and is free from all attributes of deficiency. So let us now think about what the Salaf believe, that Allah (Mighty and Majestic), as He said , and He described His believing servants that they fear their Lord from above them, so He has the attribute of elevation.