Allaah is above His Throne and He is close to us by His Knowledge

Question:

Quran says "Angels and Gabriel ascents to Allah in a day equivalent to 5000
terrestrial years. Does it imply that Allah is controlling the earthly
matters sitting on the throne? Then how can be Allah nearer to us than the
veins?


Answer:

Praise be to Allaah.

It is proven in the Qur'aan and Sunnah and by the consensus (ijmaa') of the
salaf (early generations) of this ummah that Allaah is above His heavens on
His Throne, and that He is the Exalted, Most High. He is Above all things,
and there is nothing that is above Him. Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning):

"Allaah it is He Who has created the heavens and the earth, and all that is
between them in six Days. Then He rose over (Istawaa) the Throne (in a
manner that suits His Majesty). You (mankind) have none, besides Him, as a
Wali (protector or helper) or an intercessor. Will you not then remember (or
receive admonition)?"

[al-Sajdah 32:4]

"Surely, your Lord is Allaah Who created the heavens and the earth in six
Days and then rose over (Istawaa) the Throne (really in a manner that suits
His Majesty), disposing the affair of all things [Yoonus 10:3]

"To Him ascend (all) the goodly words, and the righteous deeds exalt it
(i.e. the goodly words are not accepted by Allaah unless and until they are
followed by good deeds) [Faatir 35:10]

"He is the First (nothing is before Him) and the Last (nothing is after
Him), the Most High (nothing is above Him) and the Most Near (nothing is
nearer than Him) [al-Hadeed 57:3]

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "You are the
Most High and there is nothing above You."

There are many similar ayaat and ahaadeeth. But at the same time, Allaah
tells us that He is with His slaves wherever they are:

"Have you not seen that Allaah knows whatsoever is in the heavens and
whatsoever is on the earth? There is no Najwa (secret counsel) of three but
He is their fourth (with His Knowledge, while He Himself is over the Throne,
over the seventh heaven), - nor of five but He is their sixth (with His
Knowledge), - nor of less than that or more but He is with them (with His
Knowledge) wheresoever they may be" [al-Mujaadilah 58:7]

Allaah has combined mention of His being above His Throne with mention of
His being with His slaves in one aayah, where He says (interpretation of the
meaning):

"He it is Who created the heavens and the earth in six Days and then rose
over (Istawaa) the Throne (in a manner that suits His Majesty). He knows
what goes into the earth and what comes forth from it, and what descends
from the heaven and what ascends thereto. And He is with you (by His
Knowledge) wheresoever you may be [al-Hadeed 57:4]

Saying that Allaah is with us does not mean that He is mixed with (or dwells
in) His creation; rather He is with His slaves by His knowledge. He is above
His Throne and nothing is hidden from Him of what they do. With regard to
the aayah (interpretation of the meaning):

"And We are nearer to him than his jugular vein (by Our Knowledge)" [Qaaf
50:16]

- most of the mufassireen said that what is meant is that He is near by
means of His angels whose task it is to record people's deeds. And those who
said that it means that He is near explained it as meaning that He is near
by His knowledge, as is said concerning how He is with us.

This is the view of Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l-Jamaa'ah, who affirm that Allaah is
above His creation and that He is also with His slaves, and they state that
He is far above dwelling in His created beings. With regard to the denial of
all Divine attributes as voiced by the Jahamiyyah and their followers, they
deny that His Essence is above His creatures and that He rose above His
Throne, and they say that He is present in His Essence everywhere. We ask
Allaah to guide the Muslims.