Is it correct to say that Allaah The Almighty is everywhere?

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

A Muslim must believe that Allaah The Almighty is above His throne, that His throne is above the heavens, and that He is distinct from His creation (meaning, not incarnate). Indeed, He is the Most High who is above His creation, glory be to Him. This is indicated in the texts of the Quran and the Sunnah and the consensus of the Companions their successors, and those who followed them in the preferred generations all. Allaah The Almighty Says (what means):

· {Exalt the name of your Lord, the Most High.} [Quran 87:1]

· {They fear their Lord above them.} [Quran 16:50]

· {And He established Himself above the Throne.} [Quran 7:54] And the meaning of this verse is mentioned seven times in the Quran.

· {To Him ascends good speech.} [Quran 35:10]

· {Rather, Allaah raised him to Himself.} [Quran 4:158]

· {Do you feel secure that He, who is over the heaven (Allaah) …} [Quran 67:16]

There are also many other verses that indicate that Allaah The Almighty is High above His creation. This is also indicated by the Sunnah in many texts:

1- In a Hadeeth on the authority of Mu‘aawiyah ibn Al-Hakam As-Sulami in the story in which Mu‘aawiyah hit his slave-woman, the Prophet , asked her where Allaah The Almighty was and she said that He was in the Heavens. Then he asked her who he was, and she answered that he was the Messenger of Allaah The Almighty. The Prophet then remarked that she was a true believer. This indicates that he approved of her answer. [Muslim]. [Here, ‘in’ the heavens means above the heavens]

2- On the authority of Jaabir ibn ‘Abdullaah the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, pointed his finger toward the heavens when he wanted to call Allaah The Almighty as witness for his recommendations concerning the day of ‘Arafah and said: “O Allaah, be a witness for this.”. [Muslim]

3- On the authority of Abu Hurayrah the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said that the angels of the night and the angels of the day ascend to their Lord and He, the Almighty, though he is the All- knowledgeable, asks them about the status in which they left His slaves. [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

4- On the authority of ‘Abdullaah ibn ‘Amr ibn Al-‘Aas and his father, the Prophet commanded us to have mercy upon those on earth so that He who is in the heavens would have mercy upon us. [Abu Daawood, At-Tirmithi]

5- On the authority of Anas, Zaynab bint Jahsh was very proud of her marriage to the Prophet and would tell the other wives of the Prophet that their families were the ones who married them off to the Prophet but it was Allaah The Almighty who married her off to him from above the seven Heavens. [Al-Bukhari]

6- On the authority of Abu Sa‘eed the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said that he was the trustee of the One in the Heavens - meaning Allaah The Almighty. [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

7- On the authority of Abu Hurayrah the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, swore by Allaah The Almighty that if a woman rejects her husband's demand to have intercourse with her, Allaah The Almighty - who is in the heavens - would be angry with her. [Muslim]

8- On the authority of Abu Hurayrah the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, explained that the angel of death ascended to his Lord to complain of Moosaa (Moses) . [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

9- On the authority of Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqaas the Prophet, said that Sa‘d Ibn Mu‘aath's verdict concerning the Jews of Banu Quraythah was the same as that of Allaah The Almighty with which He judged from above seven Heavens. [An-Nasaa'i]

10- The story of the Prophet's ascension to the heavens when he reached such a high place that he heard the sounds of the Pens writing the deeds of mankind; his conversation with his Lord, his passing by Moosa (Moses) and returning to Allaah The Almighty to ask for a reduction in the number of daily prayers.

There are many other authentic Hadeeths that prove this great matter. This has been abundantly narrated about the Prophet by his Companions, may Allaah be pleased with them, and by their successors . This was also plainly stated in the poetry of ‘Abdullaah ibn Rawaahah .

Moreover, many Muslim scholars stated that there is a consensus on this issue and this is indicated by Al-Awzaa‘i, Ad -Daarimi, Qutaybah ibn Sa‘eed, Abu Zur‘ah Ar-Raazi, Abu Hatim Ar-Raazi, Ibn ‘Abdul-Barr, Abu Nu‘aym and Ath-Thahabi all. Ath-Thahabi added that scholars said so to refute the claim of the Jahmiyyah (sect) who claim that Allaah The Almighty is everywhere.

Whoever says that Allaah The Almighty is everywhere in a bid to deny His rising over His Throne and to prove that He Almighty exists with His Self in all places, his saying is baseless and renders him a disbeliever because this indicates that Allaah The Almighty is incarnate and mixed with His creatures. This is why Imaam Ibn Khuzaymah stated that whoever does not say that Allaah The Almighty is above His throne over the heavens and that He is distinct from His creation, should be ordered to repent. If he repents, it is better for him otherwise, he must be executed and then be flung on a dunghill so as not to harm Muslims or non-Muslim subjects of the Muslim state. However, it is right to say that Allaah The Almighty is everywhere in terms of His knowledge such that nothing is beyond His knowledge; still, one has to plainly state that He is separate from His creation and that He is established above His throne in order to avoid giving a sense of incarnation. Indeed, Allaah The Almighty is far Exalted above that. This is the meaning of the Saying of Allaah The Almighty (which means): {There is in no private conversation of three but that He is the fourth of them, nor of five but He is the sixth of them - and no less than that and no more except that He is with them wherever they are.} [Quran58:7]

It is authentically reported about Imaam Maalik ibn Anas that he stated that Allaah The Almighty is in the heavens and that His knowledge is everywhere. Imaam Abu ‘Amr At-Talamanki stated that there is a consensus that this verse refers to the knowledge of Allaah The Almighty.

The judge Abu Bakr Al-Baaqillaani stated that Allaah The Almighty is established over His throne in the very same way He, the Exalted, has stated in His Book. He further illustrated that if Allaah The Almighty was everywhere, this entails that He would be inside man's belly and mouth, and also that Allaah The Almighty increases and decreases with the decrease and increase of objects. Far Exalted is Allaah The Almighty above all that.

This issue has been given much concern and explanation in the books of the followers of the Sunnah.

Allaah Knows best.