Where Is A Question About The Place
Our master ^Aliyy the son of Abī Tālib may Allāh raise his rank said: “Certainly, Allāh The Exalted created the throne as a sign of His Power not as a place for His Self.”
He also said: “Allāh existed eternally without a place and He exists now eternally as He was.” This means He exists without a place. Both of these are narrated by the prominent Imām Abū Mansour Al-Baghdādiyy (Died 429 H) in his clarification of the fundamentals which are unanimously agreed upon by Ahlus-sunnah in his book Al-Farq Baynal Firaq (Page 333, Dar Al-Ma^rifah)
In the book العقد الفريد (2/92 Dar Al-Kutub Al-^Ilmiyyah) authored by Ahmad the son of Muhammad ^Abdu rabbih The Andalusian (Died 328 H) it is stated: “And ^Aliyy the son of Abī Tālib may Allāh raise his rank was asked: “Where was our Lord before He created the heaven and earth?” So he said: Where necessitates the place and Allāh existed eternally without a place.”
The Imām Abūl Mu^īn An-nasafiyy (Died 508 H) mentioned in his book Bahrul Kalām (Page 117, Maktabah Dār Al-Farfour): “it is narrated from ^Aliyy may Allāh raise his rank that he was asked “Where was our Lord before He created the throne?” And so he replied: “Where is a question about the place, and Allāh existed eternally without a place and without time and He is now as He was.”