A Refutation of Those Who Deny the Exaltation of Allah Above His Creation, Even Though the Texts of the Book and the Sunnah Are Abundant with It.

The Shaykh : I said that in the Muslim world today, more than ever, I say that among the people of the Sunnah and the community, some claim that they believe, but they do not believe. They do not believe in the faith that is the first condition of faith in Islam. I spoke in some detail just now; I gave an example earlier. The majority of the scholars of the people of the Sunnah and the community today do not believe in the Exaltation of Allah above His creation, even though the texts in the Book and the Sunnah have been transmitted by mass transmission affirming this. They all agree that Allah is not established above the Throne and is not in the sky... As you know, I have a long schedule and sit with people eager for knowledge, such as yourselves, especially since I am about to travel for the lesser pilgrimage, which does not allow me such an opportunity. So if I am long-winded, please be patient with us, and Allah is with the patient. I have reached a point concerning faith in Allah (Mighty and Majestic), which we have repeated more than once is the first pillar of the pillars of faith in the religion of Islam. The scholars of the Muslims, let alone the general public, differ greatly in this faith. I gave an example regarding one of the attributes of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He), for which verses and hadiths have come in succession, one following another, affirming it. In this is a definition by Allah of Himself to His truly believing servants. Among these is the attribute of Exaltation of Allah, and therefore the believer says in every prostration, "Glory to my Lord, the Most High." The majority of Muslims today do not believe in Exaltation. Some say, as the common people say, that Allah is present everywhere, which means He is not on the Throne, not in the sky. It is among the wonders of things that what is explicitly stated in the Qur'an they deny, and what has no basis at all in the Qur'an they believe in. There is no text that Allah is not in a place, there is no text, and yet in the way of affirming what they imagine to be spatiality, which is that He has the attribute of Exaltation, they say Allah has no place. But from another angle, what do they say? Allah is everywhere. Some people say He does not have the attribute of Exaltation, and they describe Him as being everywhere. So what do they say? We have read and heard this on the pulpit on Friday: 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 it. This is the belief of the theologians. As for some of the Islamic philosophers, like Ibn Sina and his like, they add, as it is said... to the negation. After saying He is not inside the world and not outside it, they said He is not connected to it and not disconnected from it. This is, as I say, in support of our brother's statement here: if the most eloquent man in the Arabic language were asked to describe the non-existent, what is it? He would not be able to describe it except by describing what these people describe their object of worship as. So what is further from true faith in Allah than such beliefs, and they are considered among the beliefs of the oneness of Allah? I am greatly pleased when the discussion took place between one of the scholars of the righteous Salaf and some of the theologians in the presence of a prince from the past rulers in the citadel of Damascus, and he was a wise and shrewd man. He heard the words of the theologians, which revolved either around absolute negation—no above, no below, no right, no left, to the end of the list of negations—and some of them say: Allah is present everywhere. As for the man who is a monotheist and truly believes in Allah and His Messenger, he recites dozens of verses and hadiths that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is above all created things. When he heard from the true scholar and this true call, and heard from those their ignorance and negation, this shrewd and wise prince said about them: These are a people who have lost their Lord; they do not know where He is.