Praise be to Allah, and may blessings and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah.
Greatness and exaltedness are established attributes of Allah تعالى. The greatness of Allah سبحانه is absolute and befitting His Majesty; it cannot be measured by the greatness of created beings and is not described by a limit or a modality. Likewise, He possesses all meanings of exaltedness: exaltedness of His Essence, exaltedness of His dominion and power, and exaltedness of rank and status.
Among the Beautiful Names of Allah is “Al-ʿAẓīm” (The Magnificent), and greatness is an established attribute of perfection belonging to Allah تعالى.
Allah سبحانه says:
“And He is the Most High, the Most Great.” [Al-Baqarah: 255]
The greatness of Allah تعالى is not like the greatness of created beings, and it must not be interpreted according to the measurements and sizes that we know among created things.
Abu Mansur al-Azhari رحمه الله said: “The greatness of Allah cannot be described in terms of modality, limited, or compared to anything.”
Allah تعالى is great in His Essence, great in His Lordship and divinity, great in His Names and Attributes, and great in His power, actions, and dominion. Human intellects cannot encompass the reality of His greatness سبحانه.
Whoever reflects upon Allah’s creation, the vastness of His dominion, the greatness of His power, and His encompassing knowledge of His creation will increase in knowledge of the greatness of the Creator سبحانه.
It is not correct to say that the greatness of Allah تعالى means greatness of size in the sense known among created beings, because terms such as “size” and “body” are ambiguous expressions that have not been used in revelation to describe Allah تعالى.
The basic principle is to describe Allah with what He described Himself and with what His Messenger ﷺ described Him, without expanding into newly introduced expressions that may carry multiple meanings.
Therefore, scholars have stated that ambiguous terms concerning Allah تعالى should neither be affirmed nor negated until their intended meaning is known.
As for the greatness of Allah تعالى established in the revealed texts, it is real greatness befitting His Majesty. It does not resemble the greatness of created beings, and people do not know its modality.
The attribute of exaltedness is established for Allah سبحانه by the Qur’an and Sunnah. He سبحانه is above His creation and established over His Throne in a manner befitting His Majesty, while being declared free from resemblance to created beings and without any of His creation encompassing Him.
Allah تعالى possesses all meanings of exaltedness, including:
1. Exaltedness of the Essence:
He سبحانه is above His creation and established over His Throne in a manner befitting Him.
2. Exaltedness of dominion and power:
He is the Subduer above His servants, and no one can overcome Him or contend with His authority.
Allah تعالى says:
“And He is the Subduer above His servants.” [Al-Anʿam: 18]
3. Exaltedness of rank and status:
Allah سبحانه is far above every deficiency and imperfection. He is perfect in His Names and Attributes, with no partner, equal, or likeness.
Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله stated that the Name “Al-ʿAliyy” (The Most High) includes absolute exaltedness in every respect: exaltedness of rank, exaltedness of dominion and power, and exaltedness of the Essence.
Allah’s exaltedness تعالى should not be restricted only to exaltedness of rank and status, because the revealed texts also affirm the exaltedness of His Essence, His being above creation, and His Istiwa’ over the Throne, together with exaltedness of rank and power.
At the same time, Allah’s exaltedness تعالى must not be understood in the manner of created beings, nor should it be said that any of His creation encompasses or confines Him.
Allah سبحانه is the Creator of the Throne, the heavens, and all created things. He is independent of them, sustains them, and has no need of any of them.
Knowledge of Allah’s greatness and exaltedness should appear in a Muslim’s life. He should magnify his Lord in his heart, fear Him, revere Him, and not dare to disobey Him.
Abu al-Qasim al-Asbahani رحمه الله stated that whoever knows the right due to Allah’s greatness should not utter a word that Allah dislikes or commit a sin that He does not approve of.
The more a servant increases in knowledge of Allah’s greatness and perfection, the more he increases in glorifying Him, submitting to His command, and avoiding what displeases Him.
The greatness of Allah تعالى is absolute greatness befitting His Majesty. It is not like the greatness of created beings, and it is not correct to interpret it in terms of size or material measurements.
And the exaltedness of Allah تعالى is established in a manner befitting Him. He possesses exaltedness of Essence, exaltedness of dominion and power, and exaltedness of rank and status. What is required is to affirm what is established in the Qur’an and Sunnah while declaring Allah تعالى free from resembling His creation and avoiding ambiguous expressions that may suggest incorrect meanings.
And Allah تعالى knows best.