The belief (Aqidah) one must have regarding his Lord and Creator is that Allah Almighty is One, there is nothing like Him, there is nothing that can overwhelm Him, there is no god besides Him and He is Eternal without a beginning and enduring without end. He will neither perish nor come to an end and nothing happens except what He wills. No imagination can conceive of Him and no understanding can comprehend Him. He is different from any created being. Allah says:
مَّا يَفْعَلُ اللَّهُ بِعَذَابِكُمْ إِن شَكَرْتُمْ وَآمَنتُمْ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ شَاكِرًا عَلِيمًا
“What would Allah do by punishing you if you are grateful and you believe? And Allah is All-Appreciative, All-Knowing.” (Surah An-Nisa` 4:147)
The “Supreme”, linguistically, is in the superlative signifying that Allah is higher than everything and is above all things in essence, power, and invincibility.
Who is Allah?
Allah is the proper name applied to the true God who exists necessarily by Himself comprising all the excellent Divine names and attributes of perfection. Allah is One and Unique. He has no son, no partner, nor equal. He is the sole Creator and Sustainer of the universe. Allah says:
وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ وَنَعْلَمُ مَا تُوَسْوِسُ بِهِ نَفْسُهُ وَنَحْنُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ حَبْلِ الْوَرِيدِ
“And certainly We created man and We know what whispers to him his soul, and We (are) nearer to him than (his) jugular vein.” (Surah Qaf 50:16)
His essence does not resemble the essence. He does not inhere in anything, nor does anything inhere in Him. “There is none like unto Him.” He is the One, the Sole, the Indivisible. He is the Rabb, who accomplishes all affairs, Allah is the Omnipotent and the Omniscient.
Where is Allah?
Allah, the Exalted, has described Himself in His Book, and by the tongue of His Messenger Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam as Sublime, Supreme, and Lofty. The Quran is full of proofs relevant to the Loftiness of Allah.No judgment or decision should take precedence over theirs whether in issues related to the divine attributes, or any other religious issue. Allah says:
وَهُوَ اللَّهُ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَفِي الْأَرْضِ يَعْلَمُ سِرَّكُمْ وَجَهْرَكُمْ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا تَكْسِبُونَ
“And He (is) Allah in the heavens and in the earth. He knows your secret and what you make public and He knows what you earn.” (Surah Al Imran 6:3)
However, Allah, Mighty and Majestic, is the creator of time and space. If we limit Him to any time or space, then this would imply that we resemble Him to his creation by giving Him a body, as space is limited. If one was to say that Allah is everywhere, then this is wrong, as ‘everywhere is limited and ends somewhere, whereas Allah is not limited. Allah says:
ذَٰلِكُمُ اللَّهُ رَبُّكُمْ خَالِقُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ لَّا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ فَأَنَّىٰ تُؤْفَكُونَ
“That (is) Allah your Lord, (the) Creator (of) all things, (there is) no god except Him. So how are you deluded?” (Surah Ghafir 40:62)
Similarly, to say that Allah is on earth, sky, moon, sun, throne, etc… is also wrong, as all these things are limited and to limit Allah to any created thing is Kufr
Evidence from the Quran, Allah Almighty says:
The Quran is full of both explicit and implicit proofs. Among the implicit proofs are the several verses that mention deeds and Jesus being raised to Allah. Only what is below is raised or ascends.
As Allah says, the meaning of which is: “And when Allah said:
- “The Compassionate has risen over the ‘Arsh.” (Quran 20:2)
- “To Him ascend (all) the goodly words, and the righteous deeds lift them.” (Quran 35:10)
- “From Allah, the Lord of the Places of Ascent, the angels and the Ruh (Gabriel) ascend to Him in a day the measure whereof is of fifty thousand years.” (Quran 70:3-4)
- “Do you feel secure that He, Who is this-same (above the heavens), will not cause the earth to sink…Or do you feel secure that He, Who is this-same (above the heavens) will not send against you a violent whirlwind?” (Quran 67:16-17)
- “And verily, your Rabb is Allah Who created the heaven and earth in six days, and then rose over the ‘Arsh.” (Quran 7:54)
“Are you sure that He Who is Above the heaven will not cleave the earth beneath you? Or are you sure that He Who is above the heaven will not send against you a stone-charged hurricane.” (Quran 67:17-18) - “Do you not see that Allah 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 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, Allah knows all things full well.” (Quran 58:7)
- “And He is the Subduer, above His slaves, and He is the All-Wise, Well-Acquainted with all things.” (Quran 6:18)
ذَٰلِكَ فَضْلُ اللَّهِ يُؤْتِيهِ مَن يَشَاءُ وَاللَّهُ ذُو الْفَضْلِ الْعَظِيمِ
“That (is the) Bounty of Allah, He gives it (to) whom He wills. And Allah (is the) Possessor of Bounty the Great.” (Surah Al-Jumu`ah 62:4)
The Believer must believe that there is none like unto Allah, the Exalted, in His essence, attributes, nor His actions. He must also believe that Allah needs none of His creatures. Neither a thing nor a place encompasses Him. He is above His ‘Arsh, above the seventh heaven, and above all His creature essentially and realistically not allegorically. Allah says:
وَمَا قَدَرُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ قَدْرِهِ وَالْأَرْضُ جَمِيعًا قَبْضَتُهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَالسَّمَاوَاتُ مَطْوِيَّاتٌ بِيَمِينِهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ
“And not they appraised Allah (with) true appraisal, while the earth entirely (will be) in His Grip (on the) Day (of) the Resurrection, and the heavens (will be) folded in His Right Hand. Glory be to Him! And High is He above what they associate (with Him).” (Surah Az-Zumar 39:67)
There are none of His creatures that touches Him. Based on this it is not permissible to say that Allah is everywhere, or He inheres in any of His creatures, for Allah was when there was nothing. He who asserts that Allah is not outside the universe, not only denies the existence of Allah, but he worships a non-existent god.
