Al-Bukhariyy narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said:
إذا كان أحدكم في صلاته فإنّه يناجي ربه فلا يبصقنّ في قبلته ولا عن يمينه فإن ربه بينه وبين قبلته
[which translates literally as] “If one of you were in his prayer, then surely he is addressing his Lord. So let him not spit in the direction of his Qiblah or to his right, for certainly His Lord is between him and his Qiblah.”[1] This hadith has a stronger chain of narration than the hadith of the female slave.
Al-Bukhariyy also narrated from the route of Abu Musa Al-Ash^ariyy that the Messenger of Allah said:
اربعوا على أنفسكم فإنكم لا تدعون أصم ولا غائبا، إنكم تدعون سميعا قريبا، والذي تدونه أقرب إلى أحدكم من عنق راحلة أحدكم
[which translates literally as] “Take it easy on yourselves, for certainly you are not calling on someone who is deaf, nor are you calling upon someone who is absent. You are calling on Someone Who Hears and He is Close. The One that you are calling is Closer to one of you then the neck of an animal that you are riding.”
So it is said to the one who opposes, “If you took the hadith of the female slave by its apparent meaning, and these two hadiths by their apparent meanings, then your claim that Allah is in the sky is invalidated. Then, if you explain these two hadiths of Al-Bukhariyy by other than their apparent meanings, and you do not explain the hadith of the slave girl by other than its apparent meaning, then this is being arbitrary; a saying without evidence. Then what Allah said about the Jews in the Qur’an would be applicable to you:
﴿أَفَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِبَعْضِ الْكِتَابِ وَتَكْفُرُونَ بِبَعْضٍ﴾
[which means] “Do you believe in some of the Book and disbelieve in some of it?” Likewise, what do you, O Likeners, say about the Saying of Allah:
﴿فَأَيْنَمَا تُوَلُّوا فَثَمَّ وَجْهُ اللهِ﴾
[which translates literally as] “Wherever you turn yourself is the face of Allah.” If you explain this verse by other than its apparent meaning, why do you not explain the hadith of the female slave by other than its apparent meaning? It came in the tafsir from Mujahid, the student of Ibn ^Abbas, that this means the Qiblah of Allah. So he explained the term “wajh” [which literally means face] of Allah as “Qiblah” of Allah; this means that this verse is revealed in reference to the optional prayer while traveling on an animal.
[1] The real meaning of this hadith is that when the person is praying, he is facing his Qiblah. This Qiblah is an honorable direction, and the person is also addressing his Lord while he is praying, so let him not spit in front of him, because it is not the befitting manner for the status of his prayer, for the status of addressing his Lord, and for the status of this direction that he is facing. Also, let him not spit to his right side.