Discussion of the debate that took place between the Shaykh al-Islam and the people of innovation, and mention of the hadith of the slave girl

The Shaykh : And for that reason, I am pleased with a statement I read in Islamic history, particularly what relates to Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him), who had the merit of spreading the correct tawhid (the oneness of Allah) from his era to this era. He also has the greatest merit in the spread of the creed of tawhid in the present age, after Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab (may Allah have mercy on him) revived this tawhid in the Najdi lands, and then its good spread to many Islamic lands. In fact, most of the scholars of that time were against the call of Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him), as a call to return to the Book and the Sunnah in general, and against the correct tawhid in particular. Therefore, they were always filing complaints against him with the princes and rulers of his time. And as you know, he was imprisoned in the citadel in Damascus and imprisoned in Egypt, and so on. I am pleased with the debate they mentioned in the biography of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) between him and the shaykhs who complained about him to the prince of Damascus at that time. So the prince gathered them with Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, and the discussion took place in the presence of the prince regarding the issue of "The Most Merciful rose above the Throne." The scholars say, as we mentioned earlier, that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is in every place, while Shaykh al-Islam says, according to the statement of the Salaf (the earliest generations) of good, that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is above all creation. So that prince, although he was not famous for knowledge, was intelligent, and he said regarding those scholars: "These are people who have lost their Lord." That is, when they say that Allah is in every place and has not risen above the Throne, they have lost their Lord. This is a reality witnessed by the one who truly believes in Allah and His Messenger, that those who say that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) does not have the attribute of being above creation, but rather is in every place, have lost their Lord. Because if they are asked where Allah is, they say He is in every place, even though the slave girl, who was a slave to her master, considering that she lived in an atmosphere filled with the correct tawhid, when the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) tested her and asked her with his well-known words: she said: "In the sky." As for the scholars, they have lost their Lord and are ignorant that to Him ascends the good word, and the righteous deed He raises it, to many verses that lead to this meaning. For this reason, Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) says, "The one who ascribes a body to Allah worships an idol, and the one who denies the divine attributes worships nothing." The one who denies the divine attributes is the one who negates the attributes of Allah, among which is "The Most Merciful rose above the Throne." So those who say today, from the schools of thought we mentioned earlier, the Maturidiyyah and the Asha'irah, let alone the Shi'ah, let alone the Khawarij (an early sect that declared sinners disbelievers), among whom are the Ibadis, all these meet in negating the attribute of being above for Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and saying that Allah is in every place. So this contradicts tawhid, because it leads either to denying the existence of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) absolutely, or to exceeding the Christians in making Allah (Mighty and Majestic) present in His creation. Exalted is our Lord (Mighty and Majestic) above what the wrongdoers say, greatly.