What is meant by the attribute of elevation for Allah?

The questioner : Your Eminence, regarding the attribute of elevation for Allah (Mighty and Majestic), is it meant to be the elevation of His Essence or the elevation of the attribute? I ask for clarification.

The Shaykh : Yes, what is meant by the elevation of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is the elevation of His Essence and the elevation of His attribute. Most Muslims do not understand from it anything but the elevation of the Essence. For example, if I say to a layman, "Allah is the Most High, the Magnificent," and ask, "What does 'the Most High' mean?" he will tell you, "He is above everything." But he does not know that it also means the elevation of the attribute, that all His attributes are elevated. As Allah the Exalted said: . So the elevation, I mean the elevation of Allah, is divided into two parts: the elevation of the Essence, meaning that Allah the Exalted is above everything, and that He is not in the earth nor in the heavens, which are the celestial bodies surrounding the earth. But He is above everything, as Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) said: . What does "the Most High" mean? "The Most High" is a superlative name, meaning the Most High is above everything. So He (Exalted and Majestic is He) is above everything, and all created things are beneath Him. And they are nothing in relation to Allah. The seven heavens and the seven earths are in the Hand of the Merciful like a mustard seed in one of our hands. They are nothing in relation to the greatness of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). As for the elevation of the attribute, its meaning is that all the attributes of Allah the Exalted are elevated, with no deficiency in any way. Due to His saying the Exalted: , meaning the highest description. And the elevation of Allah (Exalted and Exalted is He) by His Essence is a matter of innate disposition, in which no two people can differ except those whom Allah has blinded. So Allah (Mighty and Majestic) misguides whom He wills and guides whom He wills. In the Noble Qur'an, there are countless texts indicating the elevation of Allah by His Essence, and they are varied. So Allah the Exalted said once: . The verse we heard in the recitation of the 'Isha' prayer. And Allah the Exalted said: وهو القاهر فوق عباده. وقال تعالى : سبح اسم ربك الأعلى . وقال تعالى : وهو العلي العظيم . وقال تعالى : يخافون ربهم من فوقهم . وقال تعالى : يدبر الأمر من السماء إلى الأرض . وقال تعالى : إليه يصعد الكلم الطيب والعمل الصالح يرفعه . وقال تعالى : تعرج الملائكة والروح إليه . والآيات كثيرة كثيرة في علو الله عز وجل. في السنة أيضا ثبت عن النبي عليه الصلاة والسلام أنه أثبت لله العلو الذاتي بجميع أنواع السنة بالقول والفعل والتقرير. أما القول : فإنه جاء في حديث الرقية : ربنا الله الذي في السماء تقدس اسمك . وكذلك الرسول عليه الصلاة والسلام يقول وهو ساجد : سبحان ربي الأعلى . فيقر بعلو الله عز وجل. وأما بالفعل : فإنه عليه الصلاة والسلام خطب المسلمين في أكبر اجتماع لهم وذلك في يوم عرفة. خطبهم عليه الصلاة والسلام وذكر لهم أصولا من الشريعة وقواعد مهمة. ثم قال : إنكم مسؤولين عني فما أنتم قائلون؟ . قالوا : نشهد أنك قد بلغت ونصحت وأديت. ونحن نشهد أنه بلغ وأدى ونصح عليه الصلاة والسلام. فقال : اللهم أشهد يرفع أصبعه إلى السماء وينكتها إلى الناس. اللهم أشهد يعني على هؤلاء. هذه الإشارة وش معناها؟ معناها أن الله في السماء أو في الأرض؟ في السماء. كذلك أيضا جاءه معاوية بن الحكم رضي الله عنه وأخبره بأن جارية له مملوكة أغضبته يوما فصكها على وجهها. فندم رضي الله عنه وأراد أن يعتق الجارية فجاء إلى النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم نعم فأخبر النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم بذلك فقال ادعها فدعاها. وقال لها : أين الله؟ قالت في السماء. قال : من أنا ؟ قالت : أنت رسول الله. قال : أعتقها فإنها مؤمنة .فأقرها النبي صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم على قولها : إن الله في السماء. والأحاديث في هذا كثيرة ومعروفة. وقد أجمع الصحابة رضي الله عنهم والسلف الصالح على إثبات علو الله تعالى الذاتي. وأن الله تعالى فوق كل شيء. ولا يحل بأي وجه من الوجوه أن نقول إن الله في كل مكان. لو تأمل الإنسان هذا القول لوجد فيه الفظائع والطوام الكبرى. إذا قلت إن الله بكل شيء بكل مكان هل يمكن لأي إنسان أن ينطق لسانه فيقول إن الله في المراحيض؟ أجيبوا يا جماعة. لا والله لا يمكن. وهذا لازم القول بأنه بكل مكان. كيف يكون بكل مكان؟ في السوق في المسجد في السيارة في الطيارة في المركب في الأماكن التي لا يمكن أن يتفوه الإنسان بأن الله فيها إطلاقا. الأماكن القذرة والوسخة يكون الله فيها؟ ثم كيف يكون الله في كل مكان أهو واحد أو متعدد؟ واحد .كيف يكون بكل مكان. يلزم إذا قلنا إنه في كل مكان إما التعدد وإما التجزء. أن جزءا منه هنا وجزء هناك وإما الحلول أن تكون الأشياء حالة فيه. وكل هذا لا يمكن لأي مسلم بل ولا لعاقل أن يتفوه به. ولهذا يجب عليك أيها المسلم أن تؤمن بأن الله تعالى فوق كل شيء. وأنه استوى على عرشه. وإياك أن تلقى ربك بغير هذه العقيدة. فإن لقيت ربك بغير هذه العقيدة فأنت على خطر عظيم. أومن بأن الله فوق كل شيء مستو على عرشه عالم بخلقه. وإياك أن تقول هذه القولة النكراء الشنيعة إن الله تعالى بكل مكان. سبحان الله عما يقولون علوا كبيرا! نعم.

السائل : جزاكم الله خيرا. And He is the Subduer above His servants. And He said the Exalted: "Exalt the name of your Lord, the Most High." And He said the Exalted: "And He is the Most High, the Magnificent." And He said the Exalted: "They fear their Lord above them." And He said the Exalted: "He directs the affair from the heaven to the earth." And He said the Exalted: "To Him ascends the good word, and the righteous deed raises it." And He said the Exalted: "The angels and the Spirit ascend to Him." And the verses are many, many, regarding the elevation of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). In the Sunnah as well, it is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he affirmed for Allah the elevation of the Essence in all types of the Sunnah by speech, action, and approval. As for speech: it came in the hadith of the ruqyah: "Our Lord is Allah, who is in the heaven, Your name is Most Pure." And likewise, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) says while prostrating: "Glory be to my Lord, the Most High." So he affirms the elevation of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). And as for action: he (peace and blessings be upon him) delivered a sermon to the Muslims in their greatest gathering, and that was on the Day of 'Arafah. He (peace and blessings be upon him) delivered the sermon to them and mentioned to them the fundamentals of the Shari'ah and important principles. Then he said: "You will be questioned about me, so what are you saying?" They said: "We bear witness that you have conveyed, advised, and fulfilled." And we bear witness that he (peace and blessings be upon him) conveyed, fulfilled, and advised. So he said: "O Allah, I bear witness," raising his finger to the sky and pointing it to the people. "O Allah, I bear witness," meaning regarding these people. What does this gesture mean? It means that Allah is in the heaven or in the earth? In the heaven. Likewise, Mu'awiyah ibn al-Hakam (may Allah be pleased with him) came to him and informed him that a slave girl of his had angered him one day, so he struck her on her face. He (may Allah be pleased with him) regretted it and wanted to free the slave girl, so he came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Yes, he informed the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) of that, so he said: "Call her," and he called her. And he said to her: "Where is Allah?" She said: "In the heaven." He said: "Who am I?" She said: "You are the Messenger of Allah." He said: "Free her, for she is a believer." So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) approved her statement: that Allah is in the heaven. And the hadiths in this regard are many and well-known. And the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) and the righteous Salaf agreed upon affirming the elevation of Allah the Exalted by His Essence. And that Allah the Exalted is above everything. And it is not permissible in any way for us to say that Allah is in every place. If a person reflects on this statement, he will find in it great abominations and major sins. If you say that Allah is with everything, in every place, can any person's tongue utter that Allah is in the bathrooms? Answer, people. No, by Allah, it is not possible. And this is a necessary consequence of the statement that He is in every place. How can He be in every place? In the market, in the mosque, in the car, in the airplane, in the ship, in places where a person cannot possibly utter that Allah is in them, absolutely. In the dirty and filthy places, is Allah in them? Then how can Allah be in every place? Is He one or multiple? One. How can He be in every place? If we say He is in every place, it necessitates either multiplicity or division. That a part of Him is here and a part is there, or that things are contained in Him. And all of this is impossible for any Muslim, and indeed for any person of reason, to utter. For this reason, it is obligatory for you, O Muslim, to believe that Allah the Exalted is above everything. And that He has risen above His Throne. And beware of meeting your Lord without this belief. For if you meet your Lord without this belief, you are in great danger. I believe that Allah is above everything, risen above His Throne, knowing of His creation. And beware of saying this abhorrent, ugly statement: that Allah the Exalted is in every place. Glory be to Allah, far above what they say, in great elevation! Yes. The questioner: May Allah reward you with good.