Translated by Ahmed Abu Turaab

[Allaah’s Knowledge is All-Encompassing. He has complete, total and perfect Knowledge of what was, what is, and what will be, but He is not everywhere]

The Shaikh was questioned about what many people say, that Allaah is everywhere or present in all things, so he answered:

This is manifest misguidance, [in opposition] to the clear text of the Quraan that, ‘The Most Gracious rose over the [Mighty] Throne [in a manner that suits His Majesty],’ [Taa Haa 20:5] and His Saying, the Most High, ‘Glorify the Name of your Lord, the Most High,’ [Al-A’laa 87:1] and He described His believing servants as those who, ‘… fear their Lord above them, and they do what they are commanded,’ [An-Nahl 16:50] [and], ‘The angels and the Spirit [Jibreel] ascend to Him in a Day the measure whereof is fifty thousand years,’ [Al-Ma’aarij 70:4] [and], ‘To Him ascend (all) the goodly words, and the righteous deeds exalt it (the goodly words i.e. the goodly words are not accepted by Allaah unless and until they are followed by good deeds),’ [Faatir 35:10].

Many aayahs and hadiths which clarify that Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, does not stand in need of any of the worlds, that He is above all of His Creation, that He is not commixed with His Creation as these people who I pointed to say–[those who say] that Allaah is everywhere, Allaah is everywhere–exalted is He and high above what the oppressors say by great sublimity.

In an authentic hadith [there occurs], ‘Allaah was and nothing was with Him,’ where is the place which [He is supposedly] gathered in as these people who claim that He is everywhere say? Especially when amongst these places are those which are clean, and those which are vile and filthy, [like] bathrooms, bars, pubs, brothels and so on.

How can they not declare Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, to be far above being everywhere even though He has said in more than one aayah that He rose over the [Mighty] Throne?

And in an authentic hadith [there occurs] that the Prophet عليه السلام asked a slave girl whose owner wanted to free her, ‘Where is Allaah?’ She replied, ‘Above the Heavens.’ He then asked her, ‘Who am I?’ She said, ‘You are the Messenger of Allaah.’ So he turned to her master and said, ‘Free her for she is a believer.’

The slave girl in the time of the Prophet has more fiqh than the faqihs of today, because if you were to ask many of them where Allaah is, they would reply, ‘Everywhere.’

A neighbour of mine says that Allaah is present in all things–these people are miskeens.

That which is present is created. Allaah was and there was nothing created. So after our Lord created the creation did He become part of it [bearing in mind] all the rubbish that it contains?! [Never]. Exalted is He and high above what the oppressors say by great sublimity.

Al-Hudaa wan-Noor, 178.

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