The Evidence for the Exaltation of Allah Above the Throne

Question:
A letter reached the program from one of the listeners, beginning with: “We praise Allah for granting us the program (Nur 'ala al-Darb), and we thank our distinguished scholars, and we pray for them for success and correctness in guiding the Muslim community in matters of their religion and their worldly affairs. We ask that His Eminence Shaykh 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn Baz answer these questions. The questioner is: Abu Mu'min Khalf Allah 'Ali, an Egyptian working in Yemen.”
Our brother asks in his first question, saying: “A Muslim brother asked me: Where is Allah? I told him: In the sky. He said to me: What is your opinion of the saying of the Exalted: [al-Baqarah:255]? He mentioned many verses, then said: If we claim that Allah is in the sky, we would specify a certain direction. What is your opinion, Your Eminence, on that? And are these questions among the matters we are forbidden from asking about?”

Answer:
You have answered correctly, and this answer you gave is the same answer the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) gave. So Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) is in the sky, in the heightas He (Glorified and Exalted is He) said:: [Surah al-Mulk:16-17] And He (Exalted and Majestic is He) said:[Surah Ta-Ha:5] And He (Glorified and Exalted is He) said:[Surah al-A'raf:54].
So He (Glorified and Exalted is He)is above the Throne in the direction of the height, above all creation, according to all the scholars of the people of the Sunnah. The people of the Sunnah and the community (may Allah have mercy on them) have agreed that Allah is in the sky, above the Throne, above all creation (Glorified and Exalted is He), and this is what is transmitted from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and from his Companions (may Allah be pleased with them)and from those who followed them with excellence, as it is also found in the Book of Allah, the Qur'an.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked a slave girl whom her master brought to him to free her. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said to her: ? She said: In the sky. He said: ? She said: You are the Messenger of Allah. He said: . Muslim narrated it in the Sahih. So the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) approved this slave girl's answer, which is the answer you gave. He said to her: . And that is only because her faith that Allah is in the sky indicates her sincerity to Allah, her oneness of worship for Allah, and that she is a believer in Him, the Exalted, and in His exaltation above all His creation, and in His Messenger Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), where she said: .

As for His saying (Exalted and Majestic is He): [al-Baqarah:255], this does not contradict that. The Footstool is above the heavens, and the Throne is above the Footstool, and Allah is above the Throne, above all creation . Specifying the direction is not prohibited, the direction of exaltation, that Allah is in the exaltation.
Some of the theologians and some of the innovators liken this, and they say: He is not in a direction. This is a statement that requires detail. If they mean: He is not in a created direction, and that He is not inside the heavens, and not inside the earth, and the like of this, it is correct. But if they mean that He is not in the exaltation, this is false, and this is contrary to what the Book of Allah indicates, and what the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) indicates, and what the consensus of the Salaf of the Ummah indicates.
So the scholars of Islam have agreed that Allah is in the sky, above the Throne, above all creation, and the direction in which He is is the direction of the height, which is above all creation. These questions are not a religious innovation, and we have not forbidden them; rather, we are commanded to teach people these questions, just as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked about them. He said: And Abu Razin asked him, saying: "Where is our Lord?" So he informed him that He is in the height (Glorified and Exalted is He), so Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He)is in the height, in the direction of the height, above the heavens, above the Throne, above all creation, and not in the earth, nor inside the earth, nor inside the heavens.

And whoever says: That Allah is in the earth, and that Allah is in every place, like the Jahmiyyah and the Mu'tazilah and the like of them, is a disbeliever according to the people of the Sunnah and the community; because he is denying Allah and His Messenger in their informing that He, the Exalted, is in the sky, above the Throne (Exalted and Majestic is He). So it is necessary to believe that Allah is above the Throne, above all creation, and that He is in the sky, meaning: in the exaltation. The meaning of the sky is: the exaltation. So the sky is used for two meanings:
One of them: the built heavens, they are called: sky.
And the second: the height, which is called the sky. So Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) is in the height, in the direction of the height, above all creation. And when "the sky" is intended, the meaning is "upon it." "In" means "upon." "In the sky" means "upon the sky" and above it, as Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) said:[Surah Al-Imran:137] "Travel in the earth" means: upon it, above it. And as Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) said about Pharaoh that he said:about Pharaoh that he said:[Ta-Ha:71] meaning: on the trunks of the palm trees. So there is no contradiction between the statement of the one who said: "in the sky," meaning: "on the sky," and the one who said: "He is in the height"; because the sky intended here is the height. So Allah is in the height, above the heavens, above all creation, and above the Throne (Exalted and Majestic is He)..
And whoever says: The meaning of "in" is "upon", meaning: that He is above the built heavens, above them, and there is no doubt that He is above them, above the Throne, above all creation . So you are on a sound belief, and be glad of good, and praise be to Allah who guided you to that. And do not pay attention to the sayings of the likeners and the confusers; for they are in misguidance.
And you, by the praise of Allah, and those with you upon this creed, are upon the truth in your faith that Allah is in the sky, above the Throne, above all creation (Exalted and Majestic is He), and His knowledge is in every place (Exalted and Majestic is He), and He does not resemble the creation in any of His attributes (Exalted and Majestic is He), and His knowledge is in every place (Exalted and Majestic is He), and He does not resemble the creation in any of His attributes (Exalted and Majestic is He), and He is not in need of the Throne, nor of the sky, but He is rich in Himself of everything (Exalted and Majestic is He), and the heavens are in need of Him, and the Throne is also in need, and He is the One who established the Throne, and He is the One who established the Footstool, and He is the One who established the heavens, and He is the One who held them (Exalted and Majestic is He), as He said (peace and blessings be upon him): [Ar-Rum:25] He said, Exalted is He: So it is Allah who holds the heavens in place, and holds the Throne, and holds these created things. Were it not for His holding them and sustaining them, they would have collapsed upon one another. But He—(Exalted and Majestic is He)—is the One who sustained them and held them in place until the command of the Resurrection comes. When the Day of Resurrection arrives, they will have a different state.
So He, the Exalted, is All-Powerful over everything, and All-Knowing of everything, and He is the Exalted above all His creation, and all His attributes are exalted, and all His names are good. So it is obligatory upon the people of knowledge and faith to describe Allah, the Exalted, with what He described Himself with, and with what His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) described Him with, without distortion, without denial of the divine attributes, without asking how an attribute is, and without comparing Allah to creation, but with the belief that He, the Exalted, is [al-Shura:11]. Yes.

The presenter: May Allah reward you with good.