Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
The fatwa interprets al-Bayhaqi’s statement “without where” as being based on his denial of direction and place, and on his view that it is not permissible to ask about Allah using this wording. The fatwa, however, considers it permissible to ask, “Where is Allah?” because this wording appears in the hadith of the slave girl in Sahih Muslim, while affirming that Allah is far above being encompassed or confined by any created place.
Al-Bayhaqi said in Al-I‘tiqad that Allah’s establishment over the Throne is not a straightening after crookedness, nor settlement in a place, nor contact with anything from His creation. He then said:
“Rather, He is established over His Throne as He informed us, without how, without where.”
The fatwa explains that the phrase “without where” follows the well-known position of some theologians who prohibit asking about Allah using the word “where,” on the basis that, in their view, such a question relates to place or physical bodies, whereas Allah is exalted above that.
According to the studies cited by the fatwa, al-Bayhaqi affirms the wording of istiwa’ found in the revealed texts, consigns its intended meaning to Allah, and denies direction. Thus, his phrase is connected to this theological understanding and should not be separated from the rest of his statements regarding the divine attributes.
The fatwa cites as evidence the hadith of Mu‘awiyah ibn al-Hakam al-Sulami, may Allah be pleased with him, concerning his slave girl. When he asked the Prophet ﷺ about freeing her, the Prophet said to him:
“Bring her to me.”
Mu‘awiyah said: So I brought her to him. The Prophet ﷺ asked her:
“Where is Allah?”
She replied:
“Above the heaven.”
He asked:
“Who am I?”
She replied:
“You are the Messenger of Allah.”
He then said:
“Free her, for she is a believer.”
Narrated by Muslim (537).
The point of evidence is that the Prophet ﷺ himself asked using this wording and approved the slave girl’s answer. Therefore, according to the position preferred by the fatwa, it is not correct to prohibit this question absolutely.
‘Abd al-Ghani al-Maqdisi also cited this hadith as evidence for the permissibility of asking this question. See: Al-Iqtisad fi al-I‘tiqad (p. 89).
Al-Dhahabi likewise explained that the hadith contains two issues: the legitimacy of asking “Where is Allah?” and the approval of the answer “Above the heaven.” See: Al-‘Uluww (p. 28).
The fatwa distinguishes between affirming Allah’s transcendence and highness, and claiming that a created place encompasses or confines Him.
It states that Allah is above His heavens, over His Throne, while affirming that He is exalted above being contained or confined by anything from His creation. Therefore, it does not consider the question mentioned in the hadith to necessarily imply the meaning rejected by al-Bayhaqi.
This distinction is essential to understanding the answer: according to the fatwa, affirming the question and Allah’s highness does not mean likening Allah to physical bodies that are contained within places, nor does it involve specifying the manner of His attributes.
The fatwa cites Dr. ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Mahmud as stating that al-Bayhaqi’s interpretation of the hadith of the slave girl indicates, in his assessment, that al-Bayhaqi did not affirm divine highness in the sense upheld by the proponents of this theological approach. See: Mawqif Ibn Taymiyyah min al-Asha‘irah (2/588).
It also cites Dr. Ahmad ibn ‘Atiyyah al-Ghamidi as saying that al-Bayhaqi affirms the wording of istiwa’ found in the texts, consigns its meaning, and denies direction. Al-Ghamidi cited al-Bayhaqi’s phrase “without how, without where,” along with other passages from his writings.
Among the points discussed is al-Bayhaqi’s interpretation of Ibn al-Mubarak’s statement that Allah is “separate from His creation” as meaning the denial of indwelling within created things, without affirming another direction. Al-Ghamidi also presented al-Bayhaqi’s interpretations of certain texts concerning highness, ascent, and the Mi‘raj, and criticized those interpretations from a different theological perspective. See: Al-Bayhaqi wa Mawqifuhu min al-Ilahiyyat (pp. 347–352).
These quotations explain al-Bayhaqi’s position as understood by these two researchers and present their criticism of it. They should not be understood as representing a position agreed upon by all theological schools.
The fatwa holds that prohibiting the question “where?” does not accord with the apparent meaning of the authentic hadith, and that affirming divine highness agrees with what it reports from the Salaf.
At its conclusion, it mentions the interpretation of istiwa’ as highness and elevation. It also adds to what it attributes to the Salaf expressions such as sitting and being seated, and reports their consensus on affirming the direction of above. These are positions that the fatwa attributes to the Salaf as part of its argument and preferred view.
The direct point in answering the question is that al-Bayhaqi’s phrase reflects his chosen position of denying direction and consigning the meaning, while the fatwa chooses the permissibility of asking the question found in the hadith of the slave girl, while denying that any created thing encompasses Allah.
Al-Bayhaqi’s phrase “without where” is connected to his denial of direction and place. The fatwa, however, considers it permissible to ask “Where is Allah?” because this is established in the Sunnah, while distinguishing between affirming Allah’s highness and imagining that a created place encompasses or confines Him.
And Allah knows best.