To Clear Allah from Being in a Place
AlQur’an
Allah said in Sooratun Nahl, 60: وَللهِ الْمَثَلُ الأَعْلَىَ Allah has the Attributes that do not resemble the attributes of others.
Allah said in Sooratun Nahl, 74: فَلاَ تَضْرِبُواْ للهِ الأَمْثَالَ Do not attribute to Allah the attributes of his creations.
Allah said in Soorat Maryam, 65: هَلْ تَعْلَمُ لَهُ سَمِيًّا There is none similar to Allah.
Allah said in Sooratush Shooraa, 11: لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَىْءٌ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ البَصِيرُ Nothing is like Allah in anyway and Allah is not like anything.
Allah said in Sooratul ‘Ikhlaas, 4: وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ There is nothing which is equal to Allah.
Allah said in Sooratus Saaffaat, 180: سُبْحَانَ رَبِّكَ رَبِّ الْعِزَّةِ عَمَّا يَصِفُونَ May Allah Your Lord the only One Who is not conquered be cleared of the non-befitting attributes the disbelievers attribute to Him.
Allah said in Soortul Anbiyaa’, 33:
وَهُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ اللَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ وَالشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ كُلٌّ فِي فَلَكٍ يَسْبَحُونَ
Allah created the night, day, sun and the moon and confirmed that Allah has assigned for each one of them its trajectory in space. Allah does not need a space or trajectory or place or direction to fill because He is not a dense body like the sun or the moon and He is not a gentle body like the light of the day or the darkness of the night.
AlHadith
• The Prophet, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam, said:
أنت الظاهر فليس فوقك شىء وأنت الباطن فليس دونك شىء
O Allah You are AdDhaahir and nothing is above You and You are AlBaatin and nothing is beneath You.
AdDhaahir- is one of the perfect Names of Allah which means that Allah’s Existence is definite and further confirmed by the proofs and logic. AdhDhaahir is the One Who subjugates his creations. Allah has the Knowledge of what is apparent (and hidden). He is known by the so many magnificent proofs that show that He exists, has Power and Knowledge and He does the Doing with utmost perfection.
AlBaatin – is one of the perfect Names of Allah which means that the Reality of Allah is not conceivable by the mind. AlBaatin is the One Who is not known by one’s senses and is not captured by one’s sight. Thoughts cannot imagine Him because He is not similar to anything and none is a similar to Him. Thoughts can only imagine what has a similar even if the similar shares with its similar some and not all its attributes. Allah has the Knowledge of what is hidden. He is the One Who is not overtaken by anyone, and his Reality is not known to the creation.
The hadith also means Allah is the only One above Whom nothing exists and underneath Whom nothing exists (thus He exist without a place). His Existence is obvious by proofs and is clear of the delusions of bodily attributes.
Imamul Bayhaqiyy (d. 458 AH) said:
Some of our peers used as a proof to clear Allah from being attributed with a place the Prophet’s saying: O Allah You are AdDhaahir and nothing is above You and You are AlBaatin and nothing is beneath You. Because nothing is above him and nothing is beneath him, Allah exists without a place. (Al’Asmaa’ was Sifaat – Names and Attributes of Allah)
The Prophet, sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam, said: كان الله ولم يكن شىء غيره In eternity, only Allah existed and nothing else existed.
Imamul Bayhaqiyy said:
This hadith indicates that eternally nothing existed other than Allah, no water, no `Arsh or other creations, they are all classified as other than Allah. (Al’I`tiqaad – Creed)
Imam `Aliyy (d. 40 AH) said: كان الله ولا مكان وهو الان على ما عليه كان Allah eternally existed and no place existed and He exists now as He has existed. (Imam Abu Mansoorul Baghdadiyy, Shamsud Deenur Ramliyy)