Ash-Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih Al-'Uthaymeen (rahimahullaah) was asked about what o*!ne should say when asked "Where is Allaah?" The Shaykh was asked:
Concerning the statement of some of the people when they are asked, "Where is Allaah?", they reply, "Allaah is present everywhere." Or they say, "He is present." Is this type of reply correct in this general unrestricted sense?
Answer:
This answer is false and it is not correct unrestrictedly or restrictedly. If the person is asked, "Where is Allaah?" He should say, "Above the heavens", just as the woman answered the Prophet (Sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) when he asked her, "Where is Allaah?" She said, "Above the heavens."
In reference to whoever says, "He is present", o*!nly, then this is a type of evading the answer and dodging it. In reference to whoever says, "Verily, Allaah is everywhere", and he means that Allaah himself is actually everywhere, then this is disbelief (Kufr), because it is denying what is proven by the texts. Rather, it is even denying the recorded evidences, the intellectual evidences and even the natural nature, that guide us to believe that Allaah, exalted is He, is High above everything, and that He is above the heavens, and He has risen over His Throne.
Ash-Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih Al-'Uthaymeen
Source: Al-Fataawaa Ash-Shar'iyyah fil-Masaa'il il-'Asriyyah min Fataawaa 'Ulamaa' il-Baladil-Haraam, pp. 28-29.Translation: Aqeel Walker
Concerning the statement of some of the people when they are asked, "Where is Allaah?", they reply, "Allaah is present everywhere." Or they say, "He is present." Is this type of reply correct in this general unrestricted sense?
Answer:
This answer is false and it is not correct unrestrictedly or restrictedly. If the person is asked, "Where is Allaah?" He should say, "Above the heavens", just as the woman answered the Prophet (Sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) when he asked her, "Where is Allaah?" She said, "Above the heavens."
In reference to whoever says, "He is present", o*!nly, then this is a type of evading the answer and dodging it. In reference to whoever says, "Verily, Allaah is everywhere", and he means that Allaah himself is actually everywhere, then this is disbelief (Kufr), because it is denying what is proven by the texts. Rather, it is even denying the recorded evidences, the intellectual evidences and even the natural nature, that guide us to believe that Allaah, exalted is He, is High above everything, and that He is above the heavens, and He has risen over His Throne.
Ash-Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih Al-'Uthaymeen
Source: Al-Fataawaa Ash-Shar'iyyah fil-Masaa'il il-'Asriyyah min Fataawaa 'Ulamaa' il-Baladil-Haraam, pp. 28-29.Translation: Aqeel Walker
