Know -- may God grace me and you with what meets His approval -- that a pre-condition for the soundness of belief (sihhat al-iman) is the soundness of doctrine (sihhat al-`aqida), and that the latter consists in knowing that God, the Exalted, is Alive, All-Knowing, All-Powerful, and All-Hearing without the need for a head and ears, All-Seeing without the need for pupils and eyelids, Speaking without need for lips and tongue, and Disposer of all that is, down to their most secret details (mudabbirun li al-ka'inati bi asarriha). Whatever He wants is, and whatever He does not want is not. He is free from being above something which would raise Him, and He is free from being below something which would abase him, and He is free from being carried by a throne and contained by a heaven and shaded by a cloud and confined to a direction or a place.
Imam Abu Hanifa (r) said when he was asked about His words, "The Merciful established Himself over the Throne" (al-rahmanu `ala al-`arshi istawa): "Whoever circumscribes (hasara) God the Exalted in the sense of being (physically) above or below something, has committed disbelief."
Imam Malik said (r): "The establishment (al-istiwa') is known and its modality (al-kayf) is unthinkable and to ask about it is an innovation (bid`a)."
Imam Shafi`i (r) said when he was asked about it: "I believe (amantu) without anthropomorphism (bila tashbih) and I confirm it (wa saddaqtu) without giving an example (bila tamthil)."
Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (r) said: "He has established Himself as He said (kama qala) and not as may occur (la kama yakhtur) in one's mind."
Al-Shibli (r) said: "The Merciful is pre-eternal (lam yazal) while the Throne is recent (muhdath) and it has become established upon."
Dhu al-Nun al-Misri (r) was asked about this and he said: "He has established an essence for Himself (athbata dhatahu) and He has disdained a place (anifa makanahu), and whatever you picture in your mind (wa mahma tusawwiru fi nafsika), God is other than that (fa Allahu bi khilafihi)."
Al-Junayd (rahimahullah) Said: "The noblest saying concerning the declaration of Oneness (tawhid) is what Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (r) said: "He has not allowed a way for His creation to know Him except through helplessness (`ajz) to know him."
Abu Muhammad al-Juwayni (r) said: "The Throne was created from a white pearl, but in relation to God the Exalted it is meaner (ahqar) than a speck of dust: how then can it be His place of rest (mustaqarruhu)?"
The teacher [Abd al-Qahir?] Abu Mansur al-Baghdadi (r) said: "The majority go the way of saying that the meaning of "establishment" (istiwa') is establishing dominance (al-qahr) and victory (al-ghalaba), that is, the Merciful vanquished the Throne (al-rahmanu ghalaba al-`arsh) and overcame it (wa qaharahu). He mentioned the Throne specifically because it is the greatest of created things (a`zamu al-makhluqat)."
The People of the Way of the Prophet (Ahl al-Sunna) also mention another meaning for "establishment": it is exaltedness (`uluww), as God said: ta`ala `amma yushrikun", "He is exalted above what they associate with him." Yet He is not described as being (physically ) elevated because He was when there was no Throne and when there was nothing else (in existence) besides Him.
Ja`far al-Sadiq (r) said: "Whoever claims that God is in something or of (or from) something or on something, he has associated a partner to God. For if He were on something He would be carried by it (mahmulan), and if He were of (or from) something He would be created (muhdathan), and if He were in something He would be circumscribed (mahsuran), and God is far exalted above all this."
God's saying: "have ye taken security from Him Who is in the Heaven (al-sama') that He will not cause the earth to swallow you" (67:16) indicates that everything elevated (`alin) is called "Heaven". God said this to them in response to their claim that the gods on earth were the idols and that God the Exalted owned (only) the heavens. It does not signify "the nearest heaven" (al-sama' al-dunya) or any other heaven, rather: Have you taken security from Him Who is on high (man fi al-`uluww) and that is the highness of loftiness and sublimity (wa huwa `uluww al-jalal), in the same way as it is said: "the sultan is higher than the emir," even though they may both sit on one and the same dais.
Similarly with reference to His saying: "He is the Omnipotent (al-qahir) over (fawqa) His slaves" (6:61): pre-eminence or the quality of being above (al-fawqiyya) here signifies a pre-eminence of importance (`uzma) and rank (manzila). Have you not seen how Pharaoh described himself as pre-eminent over the Banu Isra'il by saying: "Verily we are omnipotent over you" (inna fawqukum qahirun). It is understood that his meaning here does not consist in a geographic location above them.
Another meaning (for 67:16) is mentioned in the Kashshaf (Zamakhshari's Koranic commentary). It is: "Have you taken security from the sovereignty of Him Who is in the Heaven" (a'amintum min malakutihi fi al-sama'). When the "sovereignty" is omitted the pronoun "Him" remains instead. There are many instances of this turn of speech in the Koran: "And your Lord came" (wa ja'a rabbuka), that is, "And your Lord's order came" (wa ja'a amru rabbika); "And ask the town" (was'al al-qaryat), that is, "And ask the people of the town"...
God said: "Have ye taken security from Him Who is in the Heaven (al-sama') that He will not cause the earth to swallow you when lo! it is convulsed? Or have ye taken security from Him Who is in the Heaven that He will not let loose on you a hurricane (hisaban)?" (67:16-17). "Hisaban" means stones (hijara). And He said in Surat al-An`am: "Say: He is able to send punishment upon you from above you or from beneath your feet" (6:65). In the former verses He therefore places first what
He places last in the latter verse (i.e. a sign from beneath).
His answer to what He put in first position in tabarak is "He it is Who hath made the earth subservient unto you" (67:15) and corresponds to the fact that in 67:16 He is in fact reiterating (yathni) the threat of earthly instability. As for what comes in first position in al-an`am ("punishment upon you from above" 6:65), His answer: "He is the Omnipotent over His slaves" (6:61) corresponds to the placing of what lies in the above direction in first position in 6:65 for the sake of verisimilitude (li al-mushakala).
The answer concerning the saying of God, the Exalted: "He is Allah in the heavens and in the earth. He knoweth both your secret and your utterance, [and He knoweth what ye earn]" (6:3) has several aspects:
1) Everything that is in heaven and on earth belongs to Him. He said: "Say: to whom belongs what is in the heavens and in the earth? Say: to Allah." The word "what" (ma) here indicates rational beings as well as others, as in His saying: "And the heaven and Him (ma) who built it, and the earth and Him (ma) who spread it..." (91:5-6).
Now: if God was (literally) in the heavens then He would possess Himself -- and this is absurd (muhal).
2) Taking His saying: "in the heavens" in 6:3 to signify "inside one particular heaven" is not permissible as it contradicts the outward sense of the verse (zahir al-ayat). As for taking it to mean "inside the heavens put together (fi al-jami`)," it would be tantamount to saying that what is contained of Him in a given heaven (al-hasilu minhu fi ihda al-samawat) is other than what is contained in the remaining heavens (ghayru al-hasil fi al-bawaqi), and would necessitate from Him (the qualities of) complexity (al-tarkib) and combination of parts (al-ta'lif) -- and this is absurd...
3) Supposing that God, the Exalted, is inside the heavens, is He able to create a world above these heavens (fawqaha) or not? Now, if He does, then He would be under that world (tahta al-`alam) -- and no-one says such a thing. To say that He would not be able to create such a world would imply powerlessness on His part -- and this is absurd.
It is now established (fa thabata) that it is impossible to venture upon the outward meaning of this verse (la yumkinu ijra' al-ayat `ala zahiriha). It becomes obligatory to understand it figuratively (fa wajaba ta'wiluha).
This figurative interpretation has several aspects.
1) It means the disposal-and-direction (tadbir) of the heavens, as when it is said: "So-and-so is in such-and-such a matter," that is, he is engaged in disposing and directing it.
2) The words "He is Allah" are a complete statement (kalamun tammun). Then He resumes and says: "In the heavens and in the earth, He knoweth both your secret and your utterance." That is: He knows the secret of the angels and their utterance, and He likewise knows the state of whoever is in the earth.
3) There is a precedence (taqdim) and a post-position (ta'khir) in the verse. The meaning implied thereby (taqdiruhu) is: "And He is Allah, He knows in the heavens and in the earth your secret and your utterance."
The answer concerning the sound tradition: "Our Lord descends every night to the lowest heaven [when one-third of the latter part of the night is left, and says: Who supplicates Me so that I may answer him? Who asks Me forgiveness so that I may forgive him?]": according to Qurtubi (rahimahullah), this tradition is explained by the sound tradition related by Nisa'i on the authority of both Abu Sa`eed al-Khudri (r) and Abu Hurayra (r) who said: The Prophet (s) said: "God waits until the first part of the night is over, then He orders a herald (munadiyan) to say: Is there anyone making supplication so that he may be answered? Is there anyone begging for forgiveness so that he may be forgiven? Is there any petitioner so that he may be granted his request?" In the first tradition the calling out is (directly) attributed to God to highlight (God's) solicitude and (His) emphasis (`ala jihat al-ihtimam wa al-ta`zeem), as when one says: "The sultan is calling out for this," whereas it is actually a herald who calls out the sultan's order.
[Note: al-Qadi Iyad says in al-shifa (Bewley trans.) Part 1, Ch. 3,
Section 7, entitled "His Proximity and Nearness": "Ja`far ibn Muhammad [al-Sadiq] said: "Allah's drawing-near in 53:9 "He drew near and hung suspended and was two bows' lengths away or nearer" has no definition or limit. The slaves' drawing-near is limited." He also said: "Howness cannot be appplied to drawing near. Don't you see how Jibril was veiled from His drawing-near? Muhammad drew near to the gnosis and belief in his own heart. He was suspended near by his heart's tranquility with what drew him near. Doubt and hesitation were removed from his heart." "Know that what is said about drawing near and nearness to or from Allah has nothing to do with nearness of space or proximity in space. As we mentioned from Ja`far as-Sadiq, "Howness cannot be applied to drawing near." The Prophet's drawing near to his Lord and his nearness to Him is made clear by his position, the honor of his rank, the splendour of the lights of his gnosis, and his witnessing the secrets of Allah's unseen world and His power. From Allah to him came kindness, intimacy, expansion and generosity. "Interpretation has to be employed here as with the words, "Our Lord descends to the nearest heaven" since one of the aspects of descent (nuzul) is the granting of favours, kind behaviour, acceptance and kindliness. Al-Wasiti said, "Whoever speculates that the Prophet himself drew near sees this in terms of distance. All that draws near to the Real hangs in the distance, i.e. far from the perception of its reality since the Real has neither nearness nor distance.""]
Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud narrate on the authority of Abu Hurayra that the Prophet (s) said: "By Him in Whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, if you were to extend a rope down all the way to the seventh earth, verily you would alight upon God (la habattum `ala Allah)!" Another tradition says that two angels met between the heaven and the earth and one said to the other: "From where did you come?" The other replied: "From the seventh earth, from my Lord's presence." The first one said: "And I come from the seventh heaven, from my Lord's presence."
Imam al-Haramayn (al-Juwayni) (rahimahullah) was asked: "Does the Lord of Truth, Glorious and Exalted, lie in a specific direction?" He replied: "No." He was asked: "From where did you obtain this knowledge?" He said: "From the Prophet's (s) saying: Do not say that I am superior to Yunus ibn Matta.' This prohibition is related to the fact that Yunus said: la ilaha illa anta subhanaka inni kuntu min al-zalimin [There is no God save thee. Be thou glorified. Lo! I have been a wrong-doer.] (21:87). And God conversed with (khaataba) Muhammad (s) above seven heavens and heard Muhammad's speech just as audibly as He heard that of Yunus. If the Lord of Truth were in a specific direction He would have heard one speech better than the other."
Remark: Abu Abd Allah al-Maghribi [Muhammad Abu Habish al-Andalusi? d. 1154 M] (rahimahullah) Said: "I saw the Prophet (s) in my dream and I said: O Messenger of God, I need something in particular from God the Exalted, what should I use as a means to Him (bi madha atawassal)? He replied: Whoever needs something in particular from God, let him make two prostrations and say forty times during each prostration: la ilaha illa anta subhanaka inni kuntu min al-zalimin. It is related in a tradition: "No-one undergoing a trial says this phrase except God delivers him from it"; and in another: "No Muslim ever invokes God with this phrase except God fulfills his request." It is related by Tirmidhi and al-Nisa'i, and al-Hakim says its chain of transmission is sound.
The answer concerning the saying of the slave-girl when the Prophet (s) asked her: "Where is God?" (ayn Allah) And she said: "In the heaven" (fi al-sama'): She belonged to a people who worshipped stones and denied the Maker. When she confirmed the existence of God, she became thereby a believer. If the Prophet (s) had condemned her for this answer, it would have been established that she was disbelieving in the Maker. Although the Companions (r) all condemned her (ankaru `alayha) the Prophet (s) said: "Leave her be (da`uha), for she is a believer." He understood from her gesture (bi ishaaratiha) her magnification of the Creator (ta`zeem al-khaaliq).
[Note 1: Al-Sufuri may have made a mistake in his paraphrase, since apparently none of the various reports of the hadith indicates what he describes about the Companions. However, it may be that he was referring to the slavegirl's owner Mu`awiya ibn al-Hakam, who did not think she was a believer. Also, he was upset with her for an unrelated matter. Or it may be that one or more of the Companions blamed her for gesturing rather than answering outloud, as she was a mute according to some narrations. In several versions one of the Companions asks the Prophet (s) about some pre-islamic practices they used to do, such as divination, to which the Prophet (s) replied not to do that. The fact that these questions were addressed right before and after the encounter with the slave-girl appears to link her to such practices in some way which is not explicit. The complete hadith and its discussions can be found in the following works among others:
- Siddiqui's English translation of Sahih Muslim 1:271-272. - Nawawi, sharh Muslim, Kitab al-masajid ch. 7 #33. - Musnad Ahmad 2:291, 5:449 - Suyuti, al-durr al-manthur 2:193 - Qurtubi, al-Jami` li ahkam al-qur'an 4:81, 7:332. - Saqqaf, Tanqih al-fuhum al-`aliyah bi-ma thabata wa ma lam yathbut fi hadith al-jariyah (Amman: Dar al-Imam al-Nawawi, 1414/1993). - Salim al-Hilali, Ayna Allah? difa` `an hadith al-jariyah riwayah wa dirayah (Kuwait: al-Dar al-Salafiyyah, 1408/1988).]
[Note 2: Nawawi said in his commentary on Muslim (Kitab 5 Bab 7 Hadith 33): "This is from among the ahadith that deal with God's attributes and there are two schools of reading for it... The first consists in believing in it without entering into its meaning, while holding that there is nothing like unto God, with His elevation above the most elevated of things created (tanzeehuhu `an sumaat al-makhluqaat). The second consists in interpreting it with what befits Him (ta'weeluhu bi maa yaleequ bihi).
["Whoever holds the latter position says that the meaning of the tradition is that the Prophet (s) intended to test her: was she a believer in oneness (muwaHHida) who confirms that the Creator, Disposer, and Doer is God alone? that He it is Who, when the petitioner invokes Him, he turns towards the heaven, and when the worshipper prays, he turns towards the Ka`ba? -- and this is not because He is circumscribed (munHaSir) in the heaven, just as this is not because He is circumscribed in the direction of the Ka`ba; rather this is because the heaven is the direction-of-prayer (qibla) of those who invoke (al-daa`een), just as the Ka`ba is the direction-of-prayer of those who pray
(al-muSalleen) -- or, on the other hand, was she of the idol-worshippers who worship the idols that are in front of them? When she replied: "In heaven," it was understood that she was a believer in oneness and not an idol-worshipper.
["QaaDi `IyaaD said: "There is no disagreement among the Muslims, all without exception (qaaTibata) of their savants (faqeehihim), scholars of hadith (muHaddithihim), theologians (mutakallimihim), keen-sighted ones (nazzarihim), and imitators (muqallidihim), that THE EXTERNAL MEANINGS CITED PERTAINING TO GOD BEING IN THE HEAVEN (al-zawaahir al- waarida bi dhikrillahi ta`ala fi al-sama') -- as in His saying: "Have ye taken security from Him Who is in the Heaven that He will not cause the earth to swallow you?" (67:16) and the like -- ARE NOT AS THEY APPEAR (laysat `ala zaahiriha) BUT RATHER ARE INTERPRETED BY ALL (muta'awwila `inda jamee`ihim).
["Q.I. continues, "Now, he among the muHadditheen, fuqahaa' and mutakallimeen who spoke to establish that there is aboveness in direction (fa man qaala bi ithbaati jihati fawqin) without specifying dimension or modality (min ghayri taHdeedin wa la takyeef): he did so only BY INTERPRETING (ta'awwala) "in the heaven" (fi al-sama') to mean "above the heaven" (`ala al-sama').
["Q. I. continues, "And of the great multitude (duhamaa') of the keen-sighted ones and theologians (mutakallimeen) and those who establish God's freedom from any likeness to creation (aSHab al-tanzeeh) who spoke to negate the concept of limit (nafi al-Hadd) and the inconceivability of direction with relation to God (istiHaalat al-jihati fi Haqqihi subHaanahu wa ta`aala): they did so only BY INTERPRETING WITH VARIOUS FIGURATIVE INTERPRETATIONS, ACCORDING TO THE NECESSITY OF EACH CASE (ta'awwalooha ta'weelaatin bi Hasbi muqtaDaaha)...
["Q.I. continues, "Some of them practiced mutual tolerance in the matter of establishing a direction for God (i.e. they did the latter to some extent), but only with apprehension at such tolerance: for is there any difference between asking "how" and establishing directions for God? However, whatever generalization the Law has made (laakin iTlaaqa maa aTlaqahu al-shar`) such as about God being the Omnipotent over (fawqa) His slaves and His establishing Himself over (`ala) the Throne, it is always with adherence (tamassuk) to the verse which sums up the absolute unlikeness (al-tanzeeh al-kulli) of God to creation, "There is nothing like unto Him," without which nothing of what is conceived in the mind is sound (al-ladhi laa yaSuHHu fi al-ma`qooli ghayruhu). Such adherence is perfect protection for him to whom God the Exalted grants success." And this is the end of QaaDi `IyaaD's discourse (rahimahullah)."]
The Prophet (s)... similarly said as is recorded in Bukhari: "When one of you prays, let him not spit in front of him for God is in front of Him when he prays." If God was (actually) in the above direction (fi al-jiha al-fawqiyya), the prohibition would be meaningless.
The answer concerning his saying (s): "On the Day of resurrection God will fold up the heavens and then He will seize them in His hand (ya'khudhhunna bi yadihi)": It has been established with definitive proof that the hand of God does not signify a limb. al-yad among the Arabs signifies strength (al-quwwa). God says: "And make mention of our bondmen, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, men of parts [lit. 'of Two Hands'] and vision" (38:45) meaning, "men possessing strength." It also means ownership (al-mulk) as God said: "Lo! the bounty is in Allah's hand" (3:73). It also means favor, as it is said: "So-and-so has a hand over so-and-so," to mean that he owes him a favor. It also means a kind of link (al-Sila), as God said: "Or he agreeth to forgo it in whose hand is the marriage tie" (2:237).
Concerning the Prophet's (s) saying: "The Fire (Jahannam) will not cease to be thrown into, and it will say: Is there more? until until the Lord of Might (Rabb al-`izzat) places into it His qadam [lit. "foot"]," Hasan al-Basri (r) said that qadam means those whom God has sent forth (qaddamahum Allah) from the most evil of creatures, and has established as inhabitants of the Fire. Others have said that the qadam are a creaation which God creates and then casts into the Fire. It is confirmed by what is found in the sound narrations: "Paradise will remain partly vacant until God gives rise (yunshi') to a special creation and makes them dwell in it and fill it."
Another sound narration has "His qidam (timelessness)," and another narration has: "Until the Lord of Power (al-Jabbar) places his rijl [lit. "leg"]..." rijl is an expression to mean a large assembly (jamaa`a), and it is said: "A rijl of locusts have fallen upon us." Ibn al-`Imaad said: "Some of them said that by al-jabbar Pharaoh was meant."...
It has been established by rational as well as traditional proofs (bi al-`aqli wa al-naql) from the Book and the Sunna that the Lord of Truth, Glorious and Exalted, is above-and-beyond (munazzah) possessing a bodily appendage (al-jaariHa), a direction (al-jiha), movement (al-Haraka), or stillness (al-sukoon).
Tabarani relates on the authority of Abu Dharr that the Prophet (s) said: "Whoever draws near to God an inch (shibran), God draws near to him a handspan (dhiraa`an), and whoever draws near to Him a handspan, God draws near to him an armspan (baa`an), and whoever comes to God walking (maashian), God comes to him running (muharwilan), and God is higher and more majestic (than this)," and he repeated it (the latter phrase) three times. His repetition is an indication that God, the Glorious and the Exalted, is above-and-beyond movement.
All the verses that were revealed as well as the traditions whose external meaning (zaahir) denotes (yaqtaDi) a bodily appendage (al- jaariHa) and a location (al-makaan) are interpreted figuratively (mu'awwal) by the People of Truth. And ta'weel is either in the hearts -- and those are the People of Sound Hearts (ahl al-salaama) -- or upon the tongues -- and those are the People of Ta'weel. Their evidence in support of ta'weel is His saying: maa yakoonu min najwaa... "There is no secret conference of three but He is their fourth, nor of five but He is their sixth, nor of less than that or more but He is with them wheresoever they may be" (58:7) and the Prophet's (s) saying: "The Black Stone is God's right hand." The mind witnesses that God is not spatially confined anywhere and is not divisible (Allah la yataHayyaz wa la yataba``aD); and sensory perception (al-Hiss) witnesses that the Black Stone is not literally the right hand of God (yameen Allah). Rather, it consists in prosperity (yumn) and blessing (baraka).
Ibn `Abbas (r) said when he was asked about God's saying "On the day when it
befalleth them in earnest [lit. "On the day the shank or leg is uncovered or
vulnerable"]" (69:42): "If you find something from the Qur'an to be
obscure, seek its meaning from poetry; verily poetry is the register (deewaan) of
the Arabs. Have you not heard the poet's saying, Your people have opened the way of
sword-blows upon the necks
[qad sanna qawmuka Darb al-a`naaqi]
And war or battle became extremely violent
[lit. rose on every leg, i.e. was impossible to flee] [wa qaamat al-Harbu `alaa saaqin]."
Then he said: "This is a day of affliction and violence."
On the authority of Abu Musa al-Ash`ari the Prophet (s) said concerning God's saying: "The day the shank is uncovered": "An immense light will be uncovered." Another narration on his authority has: "Their veil will be lifted and they will see God the Exalted and fall prostrate before him, and there shall remain numerous groups that seek to fall prostrate but are unable to do so."
The answer concerning his saying: "Allah hath now revealed [lit. brought down] the fairest of statements" (39:23), "Lo! We revealed it [lit. sent it down] on the Night of Power" (97:1), and the like: it means it came down from the Preserved Tablet (al-lawH al-maHfooz)upon Muhammad (s) through the intermediary of Jibreel, or Jibreel may have heard it (directly ) from God just as Musa heard God's speech -- from the right and the left and the top and the bottom and not from any particular direction, upon which Jibreel expressed it with an Arabic language (bi lughatin `arabiyyatin) which Muhammad (s) made understood to his Community (fahhamaha li ummatihi) with an Arabic tongue (bi lisaanin `arabiyy). The language of expression is therefore Arabic, but not what is expressed. This is the meaning of descent or revelation (nuzool).
This is proven by God's saying: "Lo! We have appointed it (ja`alnahu = We have made it) a Lecture (Qur'an) in Arabic that haply ye may understand" (43:3), that is: "We have made the Recitation of this book become Arabic (Sayyarna qur'aana haadha al-kitaabi `arabiyyan)." It was also explained to mean: "We have made it clear (thereby)" (bayyannahu), and also: "We have named it (so)" (sammaynaahu), and also: "We have described it (as such)" (waSafnaahu), as in His saying: "And they make (ja`alu) the angels, who are with (`inda) the Beneficent, females" (43:19). The latter is the reading of three imams: one in Damascus: Ibn `Aamir, one in Mecca: Ibn Katheer, and one in Madina: Naafi`. The rest read: "the angels, who are the slaves (`ibaad) of the Beneficent."
Nor is the meaning of "descent" (nuzool) a displacement (intiqaal) through a fall (bi al-inHiTaT) of God's speech from God Himself on a height down to a depression. God said: "And He hath provided (anzala = lit. sent down) for you of cattle eight kinds" (39:6), and it is known that these did not come from high on low. He said also: "and We revealed (anzalna = we sent down) iron" (57:25), and it is known that its material is from the earth.
The answer concerning the Prophet's (s) saying to Abu Razeen, "Where was God before He created His creation?": The Prophet (s) said: "He was in a heavy cloud (kaana fi `amaa')." If he had asked him: "Where was He before the cloud," he would have said: "He was, when there was nothing with Him (kaana wa laa shay'a ma`ahu)," although the Prophet (s) did say this (on another occasion). The Prophet (s) said: "God was (kaana Allah), and there was nothing else except Him (wa lam yakun shay'un ghayrahu)." Bukhari related it.
Therefore God is now exactly as He was at first, from absolute pre- eternity (min azali al-aazaal) to absolute everlastingness (ila abadi al-aabaad). A Jew asked `Ali ibn Abi Talib (r): "Where is God (ayn Allah)?" He replied: "One does not ask "where" about the One Who brought the "where" into existence (al-ladhi awjada al-ayna laa yus'alu `anhu bi ayn)." The man said: "How is our Lord (kayfa rabbuna)?" `Ali (r) replied: "One does not ask "how" about Him Who gave the "how" its howness (al-ladhi kayyafa al-kayfa laa yuqaalu `anhu kayf)." He asked again: "When was our Lord (mata kaana rabbuna)?" Ali (r) exclaimed: "Woe to you! And when was He not (wayHaka wa mata lam yakun)?"
The answer concerning the saying of the Prophet (s) [in Bukhari]: "Verily God wrote before He created creation this writing: verily My Mercy precedeth My Wrath", and it is written with Him (`indahu) above (fawq) the Throne": ["With Him"] refers to the position of a rank, not that of a location (innahu `indiyyatu makaanatin laa makaan), because location does not apply to Him [or because the Exalted cannot be the (literal) object of a preposition denoting location] (li'anna al-makaana laa yuDaafu ilayhi ta`aala).
[Note #1: However, the hadith shows that the writing is above the Throne in the directional sense. This is confirmed by the version related by Ibn Hibban, which has: "and it is raised above the throne" (wa huwa marfoo`un fawqa al-`arsh). This refutes the claim of some of the anthropomorphists that "there is nothing created over the Throne," as if the Throne, which is created, was somehow the geographical limit between the creation and the Creator. This claim not only is unfounded in the Book and the Sunna, but also confirms that their understanding of God's "aboveness" in relation to the Throne, is directional.]
[Note #2: Ali al-Qari said in al-mirqaat (vol. 3 p. 492) in relation to the hadith "Where is God?": "al-QaaDi `IyaD said: "By asking this, the Prophet's (s) intent was not to ask about God's place (makaan), for verily He is above and beyond place, as He is above and beyond time. Rather the intent of his question to her was to find out whether she was a believer in oneness (muwaHHida) or someone who associated partners to God (mushrika), because the unbelievers (kuffar) of the Arabs used to worship idols, and each tribe used to have a specific idol in its midst which it worshipped and aggrandized, and it may be that the simple-minded and ignorant ones among them did not know any other object of worship than that idol. The Prophet (s) therefore meant to determine what she worshipped. When she said: in the heaven,' -- and another narration says that she made a sign towards the heaven -- it was understood that she was a believer in oneness. He meant by this line of questioning the disavowal of the gods of the earth (nafi al-aaliha al-arDiyya) which are the idols, not the establishment of the heaven as a location for God, and God is greatly exalted from the sayings of the wrong-doers!""]
Finally, if it is asked: "What did the Companions (r) think about this, and did they not address this in any way?" The answer is yes, we have shown that the authority in our Community Ibn `Abbas spoke about it, as did his cousin `Ali, and we shall soon mention what the latter said concerning the Prophet's (s) ascension (mi`raaj) insha Allah, and he was in no way an anthropomorphist (mujassim) or a divester of God's attributes (mu`aTTil). And God is the One from whom we seek help, and upon Him is the reliance.
Blessings and Peace upon the Friend of the Merciful, his Family, and his Companions.
Fouad Haddad
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