The sects that went astray in ascribing a place to Allah.

The Shaykh : There are two sects. One sect affirms a place for Allah. Perhaps you have heard this affirmation from the tongues of those who claim to belong to the people of the Sunnah and the community, among us. We are not taking you far from us; one of us, in some gatherings, has often heard with his own ears a Muslim, who is not of the Ahbash, say: "Allah is in every place. Allah is present in all existence." This is a belief that is not at all among the beliefs of the Muslims. This is only the belief of one of two sects that deviated from the correct creed that we mentioned earlier, which is established with certainty in the Qur'an and the Sunnah, namely that Allah, Mighty and Majestic, is above the Throne, having risen above it. They are the Mu'tazilah, both ancient and modern. The ancient Mu'tazilah explicitly state that Allah is in every place. Among these sects, which are not known today by the name Mu'tazilah but are known by another name, is a group of the Khawarij, of whose history and deviation in many correct creeds we all know something. That sect existing today is known as the Ibadis. The Ibadis adopt the creed of the Mu'tazilah that Allah, Mighty and Majestic, is in every place. We have no discussion with them now, because you have come to know that they are wrong when they confine Allah, Mighty and Majestic, to every place. But unfortunately, you must be alert and remember that these Ahbash and their like, when they meet with some Muslims or Muslim women and doubt them in their correct creed, which is that Allah, Mighty and Majestic, is above the Throne, having risen above it—how? No, not "how," as you know, and this has another discussion—instead of addressing what we hear in the gatherings of the people of the Sunnah and the community, as they say today, "Allah is present in every place," instead of addressing this error, they address a correct creed under the name of denying this error. So the Mu'tazilah in the past, and those of their ilk among the Ibadis in the present, explicitly state that Allah is in every place. This is misguidance beyond misguidance. Perhaps we will turn to detailing some of this misguidance. As for the other sect, they say that Allah is not in a place at all, whether the place is an existent place, meaning that which was non-existent and then Allah created it, or a mental place. As you mentioned earlier, we all know that Allah, Mighty and Majestic, was, and there was no time and no place. Was He in a place? If the intended meaning of "place" is the created place, then far be it from Him. He was, and there was nothing with Him at all. But He was. So was He in a place? If the intended meaning of the word "place" is a created place, then far be it from Him. But if it is in this non-existence which He later formed and made into a creation by His saying "Be, and it is," then Allah was, and from this perspective He remains as He was, meaning not in a created place. This is very clear. The other sect denies that Allah, Mighty and Majestic, was in the eternity past in a place. Therefore, they do not affirm for Him the attribute of being above all His creations. These people have a saying: whoever invalidates what they say is a disbeliever. I do not say a Muslim. These are the second group who contradict the Mu'tazilah in their misguidance. You know, the Mu'tazilah say: "Allah is in every place." This is clear misguidance and does not need explanation, if Allah wills, at least now. Those who say "Allah is not in a place," as the Mu'tazilah say and as the Ahbash say, these do not say that Allah, Mighty and Majestic, has the attribute of being above all creations. Only Allah, Mighty and Majestic, knows the reality of that. What do they say? Listen now and pay attention, for this is the creed of the Ahbash. So I ask those who are able to whisper to them to know the result of their whispering, which is denying the Creator and resorting to absolute atheism, as is the doctrine of the communists, the materialists, the heretics, and the atheists who say there is nothing but matter. Listen to how they describe their Lord? Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, they say: "Not above, not below, not right, not left, not in front, not behind, not inside the world, and not outside it." Here we agree with them that the place is created and is the world. So Allah is not inside the world. But why do they also say He is not outside the world? This is atheism. This is absolute denial. Some of them, in their immersion in denial of the divine attributes and negation, said, after saying "not inside the world and not outside it," "not connected to it and not separated from it." This is the denial. This is what all the materialists say. I am pleased, on this occasion, with a debate that took place between the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) and reward him for Islam and the Muslims with good, and some of the theologians, such as the Ahbash. These people had complained to the ruler of the land at that time in Damascus that the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah says such and such and such, and that he ascribes a body to Allah, accusing him of what is not in him. They requested a debate session with him. The prince responded to that and called the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah and his opponents. They sat before the prince. The prince heard the claim of these scholars and heard from the Shaykh al-Islam the verses and hadiths that affirm for Allah, Mighty and Majestic, the attribute of being above His creation, with complete transcendence, as is explicitly stated in the Qur'an When he heard the speechThe Shaykh : from one side and the speech of those scholars from the other side, he said, "This indicates excellent intellect and intelligence." He said: "These are people who have lost their Lord." This is a word of truth. People say about their Lord, in brief, there is no need for us to repeat the aforementioned cassette. It is enough for you to remember the result: not inside the world and not outside it, not connected to it and not separated from it. That prince was truthful when he said about these people: "These are people who have lost their Lord." Because if we were to ask the most eloquent person in the Arabic language to describe for us the non-existent thing that has no existence, he would not be able to describe it with more than what these people describe their object of worship and their Lord, the non-existent one who is not inside the world and not outside it. Is Allah like that? Far be it from Allah. Allah was, and there was nothing with Him. Therefore, the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah said that in reality, they describe both groups: the anthropomorphists who liken Allah to some of His creations—these are the ones behind whom the Ahbash hide—and these deny that Allah has, for example, the attribute of the hand mentioned in the Qur'an, and the other attributes, some of which we may touch upon shortly, if Allah wills. Ibn Taymiyyah described the anthropomorphists with a very precise description, as he described the deniers of attributes and paired the two sects, gathering them in a description that unites them in misguidance. He said: "The anthropomorphist worships an idol, and the denier of attributes worships a non-existent thing." This is the truth. The anthropomorphist worships an idol. Allah is not a body, far be it from Him As for the denier of attributes, he worships a non-existent thing. How? Not inside the world and not outside the world, not connected to it and not separated from it. This is the creed of the Mu'tazilah and the theologians, including the Asha'irah today, and including some of the Maturidiyyah in the past, and perhaps today the majority of the Maturidiyyah, where they do not hold to the word of truth that some of the ancient Maturidiyyah held, who adhered to the guidance of the Salaf al-Salih. So one of their scholars said with truth: "And the Lord of the Throne is above the Throne, but without description of how, connection, or contact."
Meaning that Allah, Mighty and Majestic, is the One who is free of need from all the worlds. Allah, Mighty and Majestic, rose above the Throne and is above the creations, not because He needs them, but so that He may be dominant and overpowering over all His creations. Here we say to these Ahbash and their like of those who deviate from the creed of the Salaf al-Salih that Allah, Mighty and Majestic, is above the Throne, having risen above it, by the explicit text of the Noble Qur'an and the interpretation of the Salaf al-Salih. Here you say that Allah, Mighty and Majestic, is not in a place. Is it permissible for a Muslim to say, "Where is Allah?" Here the veil will be lifted from these people who hide behind the transcendence of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, from the created place. But we ask them: Is it permissible for a Muslim to say, "Where is Allah?" In my belief and experience over more than half a century, they refuse that a Muslim asks such a question: "Where is Allah?" Consequently, a fortiori, they refuse that the answer to this question be: "Allah, Mighty and Majestic, is in the sky."