Affirming the Exaltation of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) above His creation, mentioning the opposing views, and refuting them.
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The Shaykh : If one says, "It follows from the rising of Allah above the Throne, and the Throne is known to be above all creation," the Throne, my brothers, is the ceiling of all creation. We do not know of anything from the creation above the Throne. If one says, "It follows from your affirming the rising of Allah above the Throne that it means He is High," then it follows from this that Allah is High above the creation. And I ask you, my people, by the dictates of your innate disposition: do you believe in the Highness of Allah above His creation, or not? Yes, my people, five out of a thousand, do you believe, by the dictates of the innate disposition, regardless of rational or revealed evidence, that Allah is above everything? Yes, by Allah, the old women in the depths of their homes who have never read know that Allah is above everything. This is innate evidence; it is known that Allah is above everything. Now, what is your opinion of the one who says, "Allah the Exalted is in every place"? Is this wrong or right? By Allah, it is a great error. This statement means Allah is in the mosque? In the mosque, in the market? In the market, in the places of entertainment and cinemas? In the places of entertainment and cinemas, in the bathrooms and toilets? In the bathrooms and toilets? Can a rational person, my people, believe in this, or is it impossible? Answer, my people.
The student: It is not possible.
The Shaykh : It is impossible, and no believer can believe in this. Far be it from Allah (Mighty and Majestic) that He should be in the earth. But, my brothers, among the people today are those who believe that Allah, in His essence, is everywhere. There is no power or might except in Allah. Indeed, to Allah we belong and to Him we shall return. I ask Allah to guide them until they meet their Lord while believing in His elevation (Mighty and Majestic); otherwise, they will perish in it. Other people said, "No, do not say that Allah is everywhere, and do not say that Allah has a place. Listen, O man, say: Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has no place; He is not above, not below, not to the right, not to the left, not in front, and not behind. So where did He go? Ah, non-existence. This is why some scholars said: if we were told to describe Allah by non-existence, we would find no description more precise than this and no description more comprehensive than this. If Allah is not above people, not below people, not to the right, not to the left, not in front, and not behind, where does He go? Yes, this is non-existence. This is why Mahmud ibn Subuktakin (may Allah have mercy on him), one of the princes through whose hands Allah opened up large lands in Sindh and India, said to Muhammad ibn Fawruk, one of the scholars of kalam: "Describe your Lord to us." He said, "Our Lord, our Lord is not above, not below, not to the right, not to the left, not separate, not adjacent, not in a location, not connected, and not disconnected." He said, "O brother, if we were told to describe Allah by non-existence, we would find no description more precise than this." And he rejected him with a great rejection. So now we have three opinions. Pay attention, O man.
One view says, "Do not describe Allah with a place, not above, not below, not to the right, not to the left, not behind, not in front, not connected, and not disconnected." There is no doubt that this is pure denial, pure denial of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and a negation of Him.
Second: It says, "Allah is in every place." Allah is in every place. If you are in the bedroom, where is He? Answer, my people. In the bedroom. You leave the bedroom for the bathroom, where is He? Far be it from Allah that He be in the bathroom. As long as you say that Allah is with you in every place, you were in it. This is a necessary consequence of your statement; it necessitates you. If you accept it, you perish with it; you perish. And if you deny this necessary consequence, you are being obstinate, because it is a necessary matter that can never be separated from a person.
A third view remains. What is it? That Allah is in the Highness, in the sky, above everything. And the meaning of our saying that He is above everything is not that something surrounds Him. No, for what is above the creation is a void with no enclosure, no walls, no mountains, no trees, or anything else. It is a void with nothing in it but Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Are you with us, my people? I am telling you, my brothers, this is a creed. I hope Allah (Mighty and Majestic) will cause me and you to die upon it. It is an important creed, and perhaps you will find in your lands people who say that Allah is in every place, or that one should not describe Allah with any place. If someone says, "We ask Allah to keep us firm upon the truth," we say, "Ameen."
The student: It is not possible.
The Shaykh : It is impossible, and no believer can believe in this. Far be it from Allah (Mighty and Majestic) that He should be in the earth. But, my brothers, among the people today are those who believe that Allah, in His essence, is everywhere. There is no power or might except in Allah. Indeed, to Allah we belong and to Him we shall return. I ask Allah to guide them until they meet their Lord while believing in His elevation (Mighty and Majestic); otherwise, they will perish in it. Other people said, "No, do not say that Allah is everywhere, and do not say that Allah has a place. Listen, O man, say: Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has no place; He is not above, not below, not to the right, not to the left, not in front, and not behind. So where did He go? Ah, non-existence. This is why some scholars said: if we were told to describe Allah by non-existence, we would find no description more precise than this and no description more comprehensive than this. If Allah is not above people, not below people, not to the right, not to the left, not in front, and not behind, where does He go? Yes, this is non-existence. This is why Mahmud ibn Subuktakin (may Allah have mercy on him), one of the princes through whose hands Allah opened up large lands in Sindh and India, said to Muhammad ibn Fawruk, one of the scholars of kalam: "Describe your Lord to us." He said, "Our Lord, our Lord is not above, not below, not to the right, not to the left, not separate, not adjacent, not in a location, not connected, and not disconnected." He said, "O brother, if we were told to describe Allah by non-existence, we would find no description more precise than this." And he rejected him with a great rejection. So now we have three opinions. Pay attention, O man.
One view says, "Do not describe Allah with a place, not above, not below, not to the right, not to the left, not behind, not in front, not connected, and not disconnected." There is no doubt that this is pure denial, pure denial of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and a negation of Him.
Second: It says, "Allah is in every place." Allah is in every place. If you are in the bedroom, where is He? Answer, my people. In the bedroom. You leave the bedroom for the bathroom, where is He? Far be it from Allah that He be in the bathroom. As long as you say that Allah is with you in every place, you were in it. This is a necessary consequence of your statement; it necessitates you. If you accept it, you perish with it; you perish. And if you deny this necessary consequence, you are being obstinate, because it is a necessary matter that can never be separated from a person.
A third view remains. What is it? That Allah is in the Highness, in the sky, above everything. And the meaning of our saying that He is above everything is not that something surrounds Him. No, for what is above the creation is a void with no enclosure, no walls, no mountains, no trees, or anything else. It is a void with nothing in it but Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Are you with us, my people? I am telling you, my brothers, this is a creed. I hope Allah (Mighty and Majestic) will cause me and you to die upon it. It is an important creed, and perhaps you will find in your lands people who say that Allah is in every place, or that one should not describe Allah with any place. If someone says, "We ask Allah to keep us firm upon the truth," we say, "Ameen."