Explanation of the author's statement: "And among the examples of this category is the saying of the Exalted: (And He is with you wherever you are)" (Is it said that Allah rose above His Throne with His Self?)

The Shaykh :"And among the examples of this category is the saying of the Exalted

and He is with you wherever you are

وهو معكم أينما كنتم

[Al-Hadid 57:4]

" The first verse in Surat al-Hadid, what is its beginning?
The student:

The Shaykh : No, no, this one is in Surat al-Mujadilah. It is He who created the heavens and the earth. It is He who created it; is it Himself or other than Him? It is Himself. For this reason, Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "Every pronoun that refers back to Allah, the intended meaning is He Himself", and there is no need for us to say "with His Self," but the Salaf needed to say "with His Self" in some matters in order to refute the people of denial of the divine attributes. "He rose above the Throne." The pronoun refers to whom? Allah. Allah rose above the Throne. Some scholars said, "He rose above the Throne with His Self." The phrase "with His Self" is merely for emphasis, and their intention with that was to refute whom? Those who interpreted the rising as seizing control. Otherwise, it is known that when Allah attributes an action to Himself, the intended meaning is He Himself. Who knows? Allah. Who is it? Allah. But this last point must be known: people have differed on it. Some interpreted it to mean that He is with us by His Self in our places. Who are these? The Jahmiyyah, the ones who attribute indwelling to Allah, from the Jahmiyyah. In fact, some of the Jahmiyyah deny the existence of Allah entirely in reality, because they say: "Allah is not inside the world, nor outside it, nor above it, nor below it, nor connected to it, nor separate from it". They describe Allah the Exalted with what necessitates that He be non-existent, or rather, impossible. And some of the scholars interpreted it as companionship, by knowledge, saying: "His knowledge is with you." This was reported from many of the Salaf in order to refute whom? The views that had become widespread among people at that time from these Jahmiyyah who interpreted the speech of Allah the Mighty and Majestic with what is not intended by it, but rather with what is impossible. And some said: "It is in its true sense, but it is a companionship befitting Allah the Mighty and Majestic". It is extremely impossible that the intended meaning is that He is with us on the earth; that is something impossible. And he said that it is possible for a thing to be with you in reality while it is above you, and they gave an example of this from what the Arabs say: "We kept walking and the moon was with us," or "We kept walking and the star Al-Jadi was with us." Al-Jadi is one of the famous, well-known stars. They say that and consider this companionship to be real, even though this thing is not on the earth. If this is possible with the created, what about the Creator? And this is undoubtedly the meaning that corresponds to the apparent meaning of the verse, as long as we have affirmed a real companionship befitting Allah the Mighty and Majestic, without likening Him to creation, and without any false implications attaching to it. And His saying: The conclusion of the verse also implies knowledge.