Allah exists without a place, he created the place and time ..

[Lets-Unite]

Imam Qurtubiyy said in his interpretation to al-Qur’an (Ref# 8/16/10): “Scholars said: Tawheed is to confirm the exalted self of Allah which is different from all selves”.. and al-Wasitiyy added: “There is no self like him, his actions do not resemble actions of others, his attributes are not like the attributes of others” …. End of Qurtubiyy saying till he said: “And this all is the creed of Ahlus-Sunnah wal Jama^ah may Allah be pleased with them”.

The interpreter of Al-Qur’an, Al-Qutubiyy also said in his tafseer (9/18/200) in interpreting the ayah 16 Surat Al-Mulk: “..And because he created the places and he does not need them, he existed eternally before creating place and time, and he has neither place nor time, and now he is as he was.

Imam Ar-Raziyy said in his tafseer: (11/22/6): He, the almighty, existed and there was no throne and no place, and when He created the place He did not need it, hence He is as He on the attribute that He had, i.e. being without a place.

Ibn Katheer in his tafseer said: “It must be affirmed what the salaf said, that Allah is clear from places “

Allah Ta^ala said: [There is no one like him] and Allah said: [Absolutely nothing resembles him, and he is attribute with hearing and sight]. And surat As-Samad [nothing like him]. And we all know that Angels live in the sky, in fact the skies are loaded with angels as for what the Prophet said: “There is no room for four fingers in the skies, except you will find an angel standing, or bowing or prostrating”. According to assumptuions of Mushabiha, Allah is in between the angles, in that room that’s less than 4 fingers!!

As mentioned previously, Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ^alayhi wassallam said: “Allah existed and there was nothing but him. Than Allah created the throne from water” Imam Ibn Hajar said: (Al-Fath/6/334): “ saying of the Prophet ‘Allah existed’ refers to eternal existence, and ‘Created the Throne’ refers to creations”. So Allah exists without residing in the skies as he did. Which interprets the verses of Al-Qur’an for us.

Al-Hafith ^Abdil-Qahir Al-Baghdadiyy reported the Ijma^ (Scholarly consensus) of clearing Allah from the place and time in his book “Al-Farqu Baynal-Firaq” (p 292) he said: “And they unanimously agreed (Ijma^-The Scholars) that place does not contain Allah, and time does not apply to him, different from the what was said by Al-Hishamiyyah wal-Karramiyyah that Allah is touching the throne”.

Also Abu-lma^aly Al-Juwaiyniyy reported the Ijma^ on clearing Allah from the place and direction: (Book Al-Irshad Ila Qawati^ Al-Adillah – p39) he said: “and the school of thought of the people of the truth entirely is that Allah the almighty is clear from being in a place or being limited, and he is not contained in any of the direction”.

And Abu Nu^aym said in: (Hilyat Al-‘wlia’ 1/72) in the bibliography of Imam ^Aly ibn Aby talib that An0Nu^man son of sa^d said: “I was in Al-Koofah in Dar Al-Imarah, Dar ^Aliyy Ibn Aby Talib, Nawf son of ^Abdullah came in and said: O Amirul-Mu’mineen, there are 40 Jewish men at the door, Imam ^Aliyy said: I will talk to them. When they were in front of him they asked: O ^Aliyy describe your lord that is in the sky for us, how is he like? How was he? When was he? And on what is he? (The Jews asked such questions because they liken Allah to the creations, they believe that Allah lives in the skies, and that he sits on the thrown, and Allah is clear from that), So Imam ^Aliyy sat upright and said: “O Jews, hear from me and don’t worry about asking anyone else, My lord the exalted is eternal (has no beginning), and he did not dwell from anything, and he is not as one imagines, and he is not a body, places do not contain him, and existed eternally”, than he said: “and whomever claims that Allah is limited in boundaries, he would have been ignorant about the worshipped Creator”.

His nephew, Imam Zaynul-^abidin ^aliyy ibnul-Hussain ibnu ^aliyy ibn Abi talib radiallahu ^anhu in (As-Sahifah as-Sajadiyyah) which was narrated by Al-Hafith Murtada Az-Zabidy in Ithaf As-Sadah Al-Muttaqeen Explanation of Ihiya’ ^uloom ad-Deen with the chain of narrators through the route of Ahlul-Bayt: “Subhanaka La Yahwika Makan” which means “o Allah you are clear from imperfection, place does not contain you”.

That all means that Allah existed eternally before anything. And now Allah exists as he eternally did, i.e. without a place. Allah’s existence is not imaginable in the mind. If one cannot even imagine some of the creations how could he imagine Allah?!!. If we asked, can one imagine a time where there was neither darkness nor light?! He would say no! Can one imagine the one who created all creations and does not resemble them? Absolutely not.

Also Shaykh Ibn Jabbal Al-Halabiyy reported from Imam Ja^far As-Sadiq in his letter copied in Tabaqat As-Shafi^iyy Al-Kkubra – 9/35, and the one in which he refuted ibn taymiah in the issue of the direction: “He who claims that Allah is in something, or from something, or on something he committed shirk, for, if He was in something He would be limited, or if he was on something He would be carried, or if He was from something, He would be created”.

Imam Abu Hanifah An-Nu^man radiallahu anhu said in his book “Al-Wasiiyah”: “and we confirm that Allah the almighty preserved the throne without needing it or being physically established upon, he is the preserver of the throne without the need for it, for, if He had a need for it He would not have been able to bring the world into existence nor manage it, and if he had needed to sit on the throne or physically establish Himself on it, before creating the throne where was he?! Allah is absolutely clear from that.”

Imam As-Shafi^iyy said: “And whomever seeks to know his lord, and he came with the conclusion that his lord is imaginable in his mind, he would be a mushabihh (One who likens Allah to the creations), and if he submitted to the non-existence of the lord, he would be mu^atil (One who denies the existence of Allah), And if he submitted to the Lord, and he admitted that he is incapable of imagining him in mind, he would be Muwahidd (One who believes in the oneness of Allah and clears him from imperfections).

And he also said: “It’s impermissible for minds to picture Allah, and to imaginations to limit, and thoughts to confirm, and for selves to think, and for thoughts to encompass, except what He attributed to himself (meaning Allah)” Ibn Jahbal also reported that from him in his refutation to ibn taymiah, look in Tabaqat As-Shafi^iyyah 9/40.

Al-Bayhaqiy radiallahu ^anhu narrated in Al-‘Asma’ and as-Sifat page 515 with his chain of narration from Abdullah bin Wahb, and Yahya bin Yahya, Abdullah bin Wahb said: “we were at Malik bin Anas, and a man entered and said: O aba Abdur-Rahman, Allah ^alal^arsh istwa how is his istiwa’ (Istiwa’ as refered by that man and by the Mushabiha that Allah is sitting on the throne where the true meaning of it is that Allah preserved the throne)? Imam malik sweat and he raised his head and said: “Ar-Rahmanu ^alal^arshi-stawa as he described himself, and one cannot say ‘how’, and ‘how’ is not attributed to him, and you are an evil man with bad innovations, Get him out!, He said: they got him out”.

However, what is narrated about Malik that he said when was asked: “Istiwa’ is known, and how is unknown” is not true and has no reference, but it’s what Mushabiha use because it agrees with their beliefs because they believe the Istiwa’ of Allah is physically sitting on the throne. This belied saying opposes the saying that was narrated by Al-Bayhaqiyy from Malik, and the first mentioned saying of Imam Malik is true it was strengthened by the saying narrated by Abul-Qasim Al-Lakal’iyy in his book: “Kitab As-Sunnah” from Umul Mu’mineen Um Salmah, Look in “Fath Al-Bary 13/417) she said: “Istiwa’ is not unknown, ‘how’ is impossible, and affirming it is obligatory, and denying it is kufur”. (How in Arabic is Kayf which is a physical attribute; and Allah is clear from it)

And what I previously mentioned of the saying of Imam At-Tahawiyy: “… And the six directions (and they are left, right, below, ABOVE, front and behind) do not contain him. (His book: Al^aidah At-Tahawiyyah).

So from that we know understand clearly that Allah does not reside in a place and he does not need any of his creations.

Also from the Khalaf that clarified that Allah is clear from being in a place the saying of Al-Imam Al-Bayhaqiyy in his book: “Kitab Al-I^tiqad wal Al-Hidayah” he said: “it must be known that the Istiwa’ of Allah on the throne is not physical istiwa’, i.e. being upright than folding, nor is it an establishment on a place, nor physical attachment to anything from what he created.”

And Imam Al-Bayhaqiyy also said in al-‘Asma’ was-Sifat (p 506), “… and what was narrated at the end of the hadith indicated that Allah exists without a place, and that the slave wherever he was, he is not close or far from Allah as in distance. Allah exists, and proves clarify that, he is not imagined in the mind to be contained in the universe, or in a place, and our friends (scholars) proved that Allah exists without a place from the hadith of the Prophet sallallahu ^alayhi was sallam: “You are Allah there is nothing above you, … and there is nothing underneath you”, so if there’s nothing above him nor below him, than he is without a place.”

Al-Hafith Ibn Hajar Al-^Asqalaniyy said in Alfath 3/26-27): “the saying of the Prophet “Yanzilu Rabuna Ilas-Sama’idunya” has been used by some to prove the direction, and it was the above direction, however that was negated by the majority of the scholars (All) because to say that, attributed the place to Allah and Allah is clear from that.”

And he also said in (Al-Fath 6/158): “It’s not possible that the two directions above and below are attributed to Allah, because to be attributed, Above is in the meaning of rank and not physicality, therefore he was attributed with: Al^aly, and Al^aliyy, and Al-Muta^aliy which indicate that Allah is high in rank, and Allah’s knowledge is everywhere.”

Imam Al-Haramain (Meccah and Al-Madinah) Al-Juwainiyy said in his book (Al-Irshad Ila Qawati^ Al-Adillah – p33): “and Allah subhanahu wa ta^ala, is non-needing to others, clear from dwelling in places or being on places”.

Sultan Al-^Ulama’ Al-^iz bin ^Abdis-Salam said in the creed that he wrote clarifying his belief which he copied from Imam Taj Adeen As-Subkiyy in tabqat as-Shafi^iyy Al-Kubra (8/219): “Directions do not contain Him, neither earths nor skies pertain Him, He was before places, He created places, and managed time, and now He is as he was”…

Proves from the scholars are numerous, for, they are as Abdul-Qahir Al-Bagdadiyy said: “They (Scholars) unanimously agreed that Allah is clear from being in a place and He does not need the place”. So all these prove that Allah does not resemble any of his creations in any way, and that he is not in a place, the six directions do not contain him, because that’s intellectually impossible, and believing that he is as He was before the Places is possible and logical.