Where Allah is Chapter 5

“His Kursee fits all of the heavens and earth.” (2:255) Where is Allah Allah is not within his creation. He is greater than His creation. Allah’s Greatest Creation His Arsh (Throne) His Kursee (Chair) Allah mentions His kursi in Ayatul Kursi. “His Kursee fits all of the heavens and earth.” (2:255) Abu Tharr reported that once he entered the Masjid and found the Prophet sitting alone. He went to him and asked him, “O Messenger of Allah, which is the best ayah that was revealed?” The Prophet answered, “Ayatul Kursee.” (Ibn Abi Shaybah) He created the Kursee but He does not need a chair to sit in.

The Throne Allah’s Highness It is considered a sign of majesty and Lordship. Allah created the throne as a great sign of His majesty and lordship. Allah mentions His throne 21 times in the Quran. Allah’s Highness Allah is the Most High and there is nothing above Him. He is above all things. Above the Heavens Allah states: “Do you feel safe that the One who is above the heavens would not cause the earth to swallow you during an earthquake.” (67:16)

Allah states: “The Most Merciful rose above the throne.” (taha: 5) The throne is higher and greater than the universe and all of the heavens put together. Allah states: “The Most Merciful rose above the throne.” (taha: 5) Allah is above His throne in a way that befits His Majesty. It is different from how humans would sit or stand above a chair. We cannot say that Allah sits, because Allah does not say that He sits. Believing in Allah’s Highness Allah is above everything and nothing is above Him.

The Story of the Shepherd Slave Girl Mu’awiyyah ibn Al Hakam as-Sulamee tells us his story when he first became Muslim and came to the Prophet to learn from him. Mu’awiyyah joined the jama’ah prayer behind the Prophet. During the Prayer, a man sneezed. Mu’awiyyah said to him, “Yarhamuk Allah – May Allah have mercy on you.” The People around him looked at him with surprise because he spoke in the prayer. So he said, “May my mother lose me! Why are you looking at me?” They hit their hands on their thighs. He understood that they were trying to silence him, so he became silent. After finishing the prayer, the Prophet called Mu’awiyyah to him. Mu’awiyyah says that neither before nor after the Prophet did he meet a better teacher. The Prophet did not yell at him, hit him, or curse him. He just said: “Surely, in this prayer, it is not good to say any of what the people normally say. Surely, it is only for tasbeeh (saying Subhana Allah), Takbeer (Saying Allahu Akbar), and reading Quran.”

The Story of the Shepherd Slave Girl Continued… Mu’awiyyah learned some more things from the Prophet. The he said, “I have a slave girl who tends my sheep near the mountain of Uhud. One day, a wolf attached and took away one of her lambs. Being only a human being, I became very angry and hit her hard.” The Prophet told him that this was very wrong to do. Mu’awiyyah asked him, “O Allah’s Messenger, should I free her then?” The Prophet said, “First bring her before me.” Mu’awiyyah brought the slave girl before the Prophet. The Prophet asked her, “Where is Allah?” Pointing up the girl said, “He is above the heaven.” The Prophet then asked her, “Who am I?” She said, “You are Allah’s Messenger.” So he said to Mu’awiyyah: “Free her, because she is a believer.” (Bukhari and Muslim)

Allah Comes Down Every Night Allah comes down to the lowest heaven Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet said: “During the last part of every night, our Lord comes down to the lowest heaven. He says, “Who is there to call Me so that I would answer him? Who is there to ask Me so that I would give him? Who is there to ask Me for forgiveness so that I would forgive him.” (Bukhari) We learned that there is nothing like Allah. So we do not say that this coming down every night is the way we would come down from a chair, or down a mountain. It is different from all of this. It is not like we think, nor can we truly comprehend it.

Allah is with us Allah states: ”He, Allah is with you wherever you are. And Allah is Seeing of all that you do.” (57:4) This verse means that Allah is with us through His knowledge, seeing, and hearing. He watches us very closely. He knows everything that we do. So Allah is not everywhere as many Muslims unfortunately say.