All praise is due to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
According to what is stated in the fatwa, Allah is above His heavens, established over His Throne, and the Throne is above the heavens. Therefore, some creatures are nearer to Allah than others with respect to their elevation and location. The Throne is nearer than the heavens, the seventh heaven is nearer than the sixth, and so on. During his Ascension, the Prophet ﷺ was nearer to Allah than those who remained on earth.
A number of leading scholars of Ahl al-Sunnah stated this meaning, including ‘Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak, Al-Darimi, and Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on them.
This issue is based on affirming that Allah is exalted above His creation and that He is above His heavens, established over His Throne in a manner befitting His Majesty.
Once it is established that Allah is above His creation and that His Throne is above the heavens, it follows that creatures are not all equal with respect to spatial nearness. That which is higher and nearer to the Throne is nearer in this respect than that which is below it.
This does not mean likening Allah to His creation or claiming that He needs the Throne or the heavens. Exalted is Allah above such notions. Rather, it means affirming what the revealed texts indicate in a manner befitting Allah.
Yes, according to what the fatwa states.
The seventh heaven is above the sixth, the sixth above the fifth, and so on, while the Throne is above the heavens.
Al-Darimi, may Allah have mercy on him, stated that the seventh heaven is nearer to Allah’s Throne than the sixth, the sixth is nearer than the fifth, and so on down to the earth.
It was also reported from ‘Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak, may Allah have mercy on him, that he said:
“The top of the minaret is nearer to Allah than its bottom.”
The intended meaning is to explain that creatures differ in spatial nearness according to their elevation.
Yes.
When the Prophet ﷺ was taken up through the heavens and reached Sidrat al-Muntaha, he was in that place nearer to Allah than those who remained on earth or in the lower heavens.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, stated regarding the Prophet ﷺ:
“When he was taken up into heaven, he continued to increase in nearness to his Lord through his ascent and rising.”
Thus, the Prophet’s ﷺ ascent during the Mi‘raj was not merely movement among created things. Rather, according to the scholars cited in the fatwa, his rising and ascent involved nearness to Allah with respect to his elevation.
Yes. According to this principle, the angels also differ in nearness.
The bearers of the Throne are nearer to Allah than angels below them, and the angels of the higher heavens are nearer than those of the lower heavens.
Allah has described some angels as being near to Him, which is consistent with the differing ranks and stations of created beings.
What the scholars mean here is nearness with respect to place and elevation.
If Allah is above His heavens and the Throne is above the heavens, then a created being that is higher is nearer in this particular respect than one that is below it.
Al-Darimi, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
“Whatever is nearer to heaven is nearer to Allah.”
This does not mean that merely ascending physically makes a person better in Allah’s sight or more beloved to Him. The discussion here concerns a particular type of nearness related to elevation and location.
It is important to distinguish between spatial nearness, which is the subject of this discussion, and spiritual nearness, nearness in rank, love, and worship.
A person standing on a high mountain may be physically higher than a righteous believer in a low place, but this does not mean that the former is better in Allah’s sight or more beloved to Him.
Superiority in faith and worship is not determined merely by physical elevation.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah also mentioned that the soul of a person praying draws near to Allah in prostration even though the person’s body is in a state of utmost humility and physical lowering.
Thus, nearness to Allah is not of only one type, and spatial nearness should not be confused with the servant’s nearness to his Lord through obedience and worship.
There is no contradiction between some creatures being nearer to Allah than others and the texts that speak of Allah’s nearness to His servants.
The fatwa cites Al-Darimi as explaining that Allah’s nearness to His creation does not mean that He moves or needs to become close to them in the manner that created beings become close to one another.
At the same time, created beings themselves may differ in their nearness to Him according to their positions and elevation.
Therefore, Allah’s attributes must not be measured by analogy with the conditions of created beings.
According to the scholars of Ahl al-Sunnah mentioned in the fatwa, created beings differ in their nearness to Allah with respect to elevation and location. The Throne is nearer than the heavens, the seventh heaven is nearer than the sixth, and so on.
For this reason, when the Prophet ﷺ ascended to Sidrat al-Muntaha, he was nearer to Allah than those on earth and in the lower heavens.
However, this spatial nearness does not necessarily mean greater faith, love, or rank before Allah. Those are different matters connected with faith, obedience, and worship.
The issue concerns affirming Allah’s highness above His creation while declaring Him free of any resemblance to created beings.
And Allah knows best.