Where is Allah? Part 2

Where is Allah? Part 2


Those who believe that Allaah is everywhere base their argument on verses such
as:"And He is Ilaah in the Heavens and He is Ilaah on the Earth!";



The term, 'Ilaah' is classical Arabic means, 'the worshipped'; thus the meaning
of the above verse is, "It is He Who is worshipped in the heaven and worshipped
on the earth". It would have been redundant were the verse to speak about the
existence of Allaah in the heaven and on the earth, for the term Illah' is an
adjective of Allaah, while the pronouns, 'He' in the verse is used in lieu of
the name 'Allaah', therefor, when the name 'Allaah' replaces the pronoun 'He',
we get the proper meaning of the verse: 'And it is Allaah Who is worshipped in
the heaven and on the earth'. But according to the deviated sect who consider
the term, 'Ilaah' as 'Allaah', we get the redundant meaning, 'And Allaah is
Allaah in the heaven and Allaah is on the earth,' a sentence which is
grammatically, linguistically and logically incorrect. Qatadah, a renowned
exegete, interpreted this verse as: 'He is worshipped in the heaven and on the
earth'.



Imaam al-Aajurri said: 'al-Ilaah, is the worshipped. He is worshipped in the
heaven as He is worshipped on the earth.'



The Omnipresence of the Divine Knowledge



And He is Allaah above the heaven and on the earth He knows your private and
public affairs. And He knows what you achieve. [13]



Those who deny that Allaah is above His 'Arsh, dubiously argue that this verse
supports their argument. Their argument is refuted by realizing that this verse
refers to the knowledge of Allaah, according to the renowned exegetes, not His
essence. They further assert that this verse signifies that the knowledge of
Allaah encompasses all things in the heavens and on the earth. The reference to
the divine knowledge is made clearly by repeating the clause, 'He knows' twice
in this verse, that is to say: "Allaah, the Exalted, knows the hidden and the
open, and He knows what you achieve".



Had the verse ended with the word, 'earth', one might take their dubious
argument into consideration, but Allaah, the Exalted, makes it abundantly clear
that it is His knowledge, not His essence that encompasses all things. Another
dubious argument is presented by those who deny the fact that Allaah, the
Exalted, is above His 'Arsh, by alleging that the following verse supports their
argument.



"Do you not see that Allaah knows all that is in the heavens and all that is on
the earth? There is no secret counsel of three, but He is their fourth, nor of
five, but He is their sixth, nor of fewer than that, nor of more, but He is with
them wherever they may be. Then on the Day of Resurrection He will inform them
of what they did. Surely, Allaah knows all things full well."; [14]



The above verse, they contend, signifies that Allaah is essentially everywhere.
This argument is refuted by the prominent exegete, Ibn Katheer who says: "This
means that Allaah is well acquainted with their utterances, and private talks
and thoughts."



Al-Qurtubi commented on this verse saying: "He knows and hears their private
counsel. This is evidenced by the fact that the opening and concluding clauses
of this verse confirm the knowledge of Allaah."



Al-Qasimi says: "The scholars among the Prophet's companions, who transmitted
the meaning of the Qur'aan to their successors, held this verse to mean that
Allaah is above His 'Arsh, but His knowledge is everywhere."



The linguistic analysis of this verse proves the following points:



1. The opening words of the above verse speak of Allaah's knowledge, not His
location.



2. Private counsel, or secret talk, is the theme of this verse. Allaah says,
'There is no secret counsel of three, but He is their fourth.' He does not say,
'There are not three, but He is their fourth'. Thus the meaning becomes quite
clear that it is the knowledge of Allaah what encompasses all His creatures.



3. Allaah confirms that He will inform them of their secret talk on the Day of
Resurrection.



4.The verse ends, therefore, confirming Allaah's knowledge.



5. Allaah begins the surah of al-Mujadilah (Chapter 58), of which the verse in
question is part, with the following verse: "Allaah has indeed heard the speech
of the woman who pleads with you concerning her husband and complains to Allaah.
And Allaah has heard your dialogue. Verily, Allaah is All-Hearing and
All-Seeing." [15] Allaah, the Exalted, states that He has heard the woman who
was complaining to the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, and has certainly
heard her arguing with her husband, but He did not state in the verse that He
was their third.



6. In the subsequent verse, Allaah emphasizes that He is well acquainted with
the deeds of His slaves. If one were to believe that Allaah is essentially
everywhere, it would follow then that He also dwells in filthy places. Only an
insane person would dare to impute to Allaah such an attribute. Far removed is
Allaah of what they ascribe to Him. It would also follow that Allaah is mingling
with His creatures in the heavens and on the earth. Such belief has paved the
way for panatheism [16], and promoted the myth of god incarnate. Allaah is far
removed from what they ascribe to Him. It should be clear in the minds of the
true believers that there is nothing to surround Allaah, the Exalted, nor is
there a place to contain Him. Things and places are creatures, and Allaah is
above all His creatures. All creatures need Him, while He is separated from His
creatures, and stands in need of none of them. The Heaven is the Qiblah of the
Du'a Muslims supplicate Allaah with their palms upheld because they believe
Allaah is above the heaven. When confronted with this fact, those who deny the
Loftiness of Allaah allege that Muslims supplicate in this manner only because
heaven is the qiblah of du'aa or supplication.



7. The above allegation, to begin with, has no proof in the Qur'aan or the
Sunnah, and it cannot be related to any of the Companions of the Prophet
sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam nor to any of the Tabi'een, who succeeded them.
There is no mention of this statement in the Book of Allaah or the Sunnah of the
Messenger sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam. The issue of the qiblah is central to
the religion of Islam, so every Muslim must be aware of it and especially the
scholars of the Muslim ummah should have known it.



8. It is an established fact, that the Ka'bah is the qiblah of formal prayer as
well as the du'aa or supplication. To declare the heaven or anywhere else to be
the qiblah of du'aa is a gross bid'ah (innovation) and a clear breach of the
Qur'aan, the Sunnah, and the consensus of the ummah, because the Muslims have
one single qiblah, the Ka'bah.



9.The qiblah is the direction to which Muslims turn or face in prayer, and to
face something is to look toward it. If the heavens were the qiblah, the
Messenger sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam would have commanded his companions,
with whom Allaah is pleased, to face the heavens in their prayer. On the
contrary, the Muslims are forbidden to uphold their eyes while praying, but are
to concentrate on the spot upon which their faces rest during prostration. The
Messenger of Allaah sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam warned: "Let those who uphold
their eyes while praying stop doing so, lest they become blind." [17] The
Qur'aanic verses allow no room for such opinions. Allaah, the Exalted,
specifically commanded His Messenger sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam and his ummah
to face the direction of the Ka'bah in their prayers, saying: "And from wherever
you come forth, turn your face toward the Sacred Mosque." [18] Then Allaah
addresses the Muslims: "And wherever you may be, turn your faces toward it.";
[19] The Loftiness of Allaah is also proven by the following verse: "To Him
ascend the good words, and He exalts the righteous deeds."; [20]



This verse contains the clear words of Allaah, in which the verb "ascend" is
used to indicate that Allaah is above and separated from His creatures. The
ascendance of deeds is also proven by the words of the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi
wa sallam describing the excellence of the period of time that falls after zawal
of zenith. He said, "This is a time when the gates of the heavens are opened,
and I hope that a good deed of mine would ascend to Allaah." The verb "ascend"
in the text signifies that the good deeds are raised up to reach Allaah, the
Exalted. And Allaah says:"The angels and ar-Rooh [21] ascend to Allaah in a day
which is fifth thousand years long." [22] The Loftiness of the Creator is made
clear by the great distance that separates the angels who inhabit the heavens
from their Rubb above them. And Allaah says:"He manages all affairs from the
heaven unto the earth." [23]



It should be borne in mind that this verse is preceded by the words of Allaah:
"He rose over the Throne."; And Allaah also says:"O, Issa (Jesus)! I shall cause
you to die, and raise you up to Me."; [24] Since Allaah addressed Issa saying: "I
will raise you up to Me";, what would those who believe that Allaah is everywhere
answer when they are asked: "Where is Issa now?" They would say either Issa is
everywhere, or he is in heaven. If they claim that Issa is everywhere, they
would apostatize as a result of their equating Issa with Allaah in accordance
with their claim that Allaah is everywhere. A claim which resembles the
Christians' myth of god incarnate. But if they say, "Issa is in the heaven,"
they would admit that Allaah did raise Issa up to the heaven, and that Allaah is
above the heavens. Allaah says:"Surely, your Rubb is the One who created the
heavens and the earth in six days; then He istawa[25] on the Throne."; [26]