The question of where Allah is has been discussed extensively throughout the history of Islam. It is not a matter that should be approached through speculation, philosophy, or personal opinion. Rather, the Muslim returns to the sources of revelation and to the understanding of the earliest generations of Islam.
The Qur’an and Sunnah contain numerous texts concerning the exaltedness of Allah, His being above His creation, and His rising over the Throne. The Companions رضي الله عنهم and those who followed them upon goodness understood these texts and affirmed them without likening Allah to His creation.
In this article, we will examine the relevant verses of the Qur’an, authentic narrations from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and the Athar reported from the Salaf. The objective is not to introduce a new theological position, but to present what is established in the primary sources and how the earliest generations understood them.
Allah states in the Quran at many several places -
ءَأَمِنتُم مَّن فِى ٱلسَّمَآءِ أَن يَخْسِفَ بِكُمُ ٱلْأَرْضَ فَإِذَا هِىَ تَمُورُ
“Do you feel secure that the One Who is in heaven will not cause the earth to swallow you up as it quakes violently?” (Quran 67:16)
ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنُ عَلَى ٱلْعَرْشِ ٱسْتَوَىٰ
"The Most Compassionate, ˹Who is˺ established on the Throne.” (Quran 20:5)
إِنَّ رَبَّكُمُ ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ فِى سِتَّةِ أَيَّامٍۢ ثُمَّ ٱسْتَوَى عَلَى ٱلْعَرْشِ
“Indeed your Lord is Allah Who created the heavens and the earth in six Days,1 then established Himself on the Throne.” (Quran 7:54)
There are many more verses stating the same all over the Quran, looking at tafaseer of many such verses to understand the meaning of (istewa - استوى)
Al Bagawi mentions regarding Quran 7:54 -
أهل السنة فيقولون: الاستواء على العرش صفة لله تعالى، بلا كيف، يجب على الرجل الإِيمان به، ويكل العلم فيه إلى الله عزّ وجلّ. وسأل رجل مالك بن أنس من البركة وهي النماء والزيادة، أي: البركةُ تُكتسبُ وتُنال بذكره عن قوله: (الرحمن على العرش استوى) [طه - ٥]، كيف استوى؟ فأطرق رأسه مَلِيَّاً، وعلاه الرُّحَضَاء، ثم قال: الاستواء غير مجهول، والكيف غير معقول، والإِيمان به واجب، والسؤال عنه
وروي عن سفيان الثوري والأوزاعي والليث بن سعد وسفيان بن عيينة وعبدالله بن المبارك وغيرهم من علماء السنة في هذه الآيات التي جاءت في الصفات المتشابهة: أمِرّوها كما جاءت بلا كيف.
The Ahlus Sunnah say: Allah's establishment upon the Throne is an attribute of God Almighty, without specifying how. It is obligatory for a person to believe in it, and knowledge of its meaning (how) is entrusted to Allah, the Exalted and Glorified. A man asked Imam Malik ibn Anas about the blessing (barakah), which is growth and increase—meaning that blessings are gained and attained through remembrance of Allah—regarding the verse: “The Most Merciful established Himself upon the Throne” [Ta-Ha 5]. He asked, “How did He establish Himself?” Malik lowered his head for a long time, and sweat covered his brow. Then he said, “The establishment is not unknown, but its manner is inconceivable. Belief in it is obligatory, and questioning it is not.”
It was narrated from Sufyan al-Thawri, al-Awza’i, al-Layth ibn Sa’d, Sufyan ibn ‘Uyaynah, ‘Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak, and other Sunni scholars regarding these verses that mention ambiguous attributes: “Accept them as they are, without specifying how.”
Ibn Katheer رحمه الله mentions regarding Quran 7:54 -
وأما قوله تعالى: ﴿ثُمَّ اسْتَوَى عَلَى الْعَرْش﴾، فللناس في هذا المقام مقالات كثيرة جدا، ليس هذا موضع بسطها، وإنما يُسلك فى هذا المقام مذهب السلف الصالح: مالك، والأوزاعى، والثورى، والليث بن سعد، والشافعى، وأحمد بن حنبل، وإسحاق بن راهويه وغيرهم، من أئمة المسلمين قديما وحديثا، وهو إمرارها كما جاءت من غير تكييف ولا تشبيه ولا تعطيل. والظاهر المتبادر إلى أذهان المشبهين منفى عن الله، فإن الله لا يشبهه شىء من خلقه، و﴿لَيْسَ کَمِثْله شَيء وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْبَصِيرُ﴾ [الشورى: ١١]، بل الأمر كما قال الأئمة - منهم نُعَيم بن حماد الخزاعى شيخ البخارى -: ((من شبه الله بخلقه فقد كفر، ومن جحد ما وصف الله به نفسه فقد كفر)). وليس فيما وصف الله به نفسه ولا رسوله تشبيه، فمن أثبت لله تعالى ما وردت به الآيات الصريحة والأخبار الصحيحة، على الوجه الذى يليق بجلال الله تعالى، ونفى عن الله تعالى النقائص، فقد سلك سبيل الهدی.
As for the Almighty’s statement, “Then He established Himself upon the Throne,” there are numerous opinions on this matter, which are not relevant to discuss here. Rather, the approach taken in this regard is that of the righteous predecessors: Malik, al-Awza’i, al-Thawri, al-Layth ibn Sa’d, al-Shafi’i, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Ishaq ibn Rahwayh, and others among the imams of the Muslims, both past and present. This approach is to accept the verse as it is, without specifying its modality, likening it to anything, or denying its meaning. The apparent meaning that comes to the minds of those who liken Allah to His creation is negated in relation to Allah, for nothing in His creation resembles Him. “There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing” [Ash-Shura: 11]. Indeed, the matter is as the imams have stated—among them Nu’aym ibn Hammad al-Khuza’i, the teacher of al-Bukhari—“Whoever likens God to His creation has committed disbelief, and whoever denies what Allah has described Himself with has committed disbelief.” There is no comparison in what Allah has described Himself with, nor with His Messenger. Whoever affirms for Allah Almighty what has been stated in the clear verses and authentic reports, in a manner befitting the majesty of Allah Almighty, and denies imperfections from Allah Almighty, has followed the path of guidance.
قال معاوية بن الحكم السلمي يا رسول الله، جارية لي صككتها صكة ، فعظم ذلك علي رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، فقلت: أفلا أعتقها؟ قال: اثتني بها، قال: جئت بها، قال: أين الله ؟ قالت: في السماء، قال: من أنا؟ قالت: أنت رسول الله، قال: أعتقها فإنها مؤمنة (المصدر: سنن أبي داود 3282 & صحيح مسلم 537
Muawiya ibn Al-Hakam Al-Sulami said - O Messenger of Allah, I have a female slave and I gave her a beating that caused her harm. This was heavy on the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him. I said, 'Shall I then free her?' He said, 'Take her to me.' I brought her, and he asked, 'Where is Allah?' She said, 'In the sky.' He asked, 'Who am I?' She said, 'You are the Messenger of Allah.' He said, 'Free her, for she is a believer.'
Imam Al bukhari رحمه الله brings an Athar of the sahabi -
قال ابنُ مَسْعود في قوله: ﴿ثُمَّ اسْتَوَى عَلَى الْعَرْشِ﴾ [السجدة: ٤] قال: العرشُ على الماء، واللهُ فوق العرش، وهو يعلم ما أنتم عليه.
Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said about the verse: 'Then He rose over the Throne' [As-Sajda: 4]: He said, 'The Throne is over the water, and Allah is above the Throne, and He knows what you are doing.'
قال ابن المبارك: الرب تبارك وتعالى على السماء السابعة على العرش.
Ibn al-Mubarak said: The Lord, blessed and exalted, is above the seventh heaven on the Throne.
Al Bayhaqi brings an ijmah of the Tabeoon -
حدثنا محمد بن كثير المصيصي، قال: سمعت الأوزاعي، يقول: كنا والتابعون متوافرون نقول: إن الله تعالى ذكره فوق عرشه، ونؤمن بما وردت السنة به من صفاته من صفاته جل وعلا.
Muhammad ibn Kathir al-Musayyisi told us, he said: I heard Al-Awza'i say: We, along with the tabeoon used to say: Indeed, Allah Almighty is above His Throne, and we believe in the attributes mentioned in the Sunnah concerning His attributes, glory be to Him.
Imam Al Dahabi رحمه الله brings the Ijmah of Salaf -
قال إسحاق بن راهويه، قال الله تعالى ﴿الرَّحْمَلنُ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَى﴾ [طه: ٥] إجماع أهل العلم أنه فوق العرش استوى، ويعلم كل شيء في أسفل الأرض السابعة.
Ishaq ibn Rahwayh said, Allah Almighty said, The Most Merciful established over the Throne [Ta-Ha: 5]. Scholars unanimously agree that He is above the throne established and knows everything in the lowest seventh earth.
After examining the relevant verses of the Qur’an and the transmitted statements of the Companions, the Tabi‘un, and those who followed them, we find that the affirmation of Allah’s exaltedness and His being above His creation was established among the earliest generations of Islam.
The purpose of this article was not to appeal to the authority of a particular later scholar or theological school, but to return to the earliest available sources and examine what was transmitted from the generations closest to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Taken together, these evidences demonstrate that affirming Allah’s exaltedness was not a later theological development. Rather, it is a belief rooted in the Qur’an and Sunnah and affirmed by the early generations of Muslims.
At the same time, affirming Allah’s exaltedness does not entail likening Him to His creation. Allah says:
لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْبَصِيرُ
“There is nothing whatsoever like Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.”
[Qur’an 42:11]
The position of Ahl al-Sunnah is to affirm what Allah has affirmed for Himself and what His Messenger ﷺ affirmed for Him, without distortion (تحريف), denial (تعطيل), asking how (تكييف), or likening Allah to His creation (تمثيل).
we affirm Allah’s exaltedness and His being above His creation and above the Throne, while declaring Him free from any resemblance to His creation. We affirm what has been established by revelation without asking about the modality of His attributes, for the reality of the modality is known to Allah alone.
The evidence presented throughout this article therefore demonstrates that the belief in Allah’s exaltedness is firmly rooted in the Qur’an and Sunnah and is in accordance with the understanding transmitted from the Salaf.