All praise is due to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.
Knowing Allah, His Names, Attributes, and Actions is among the noblest and greatest branches of knowledge. This includes believing that Allah is above His creation and established above His Throne.
As for describing this matter as “the actual physical location of Allah”, this is not a legitimate Islamic expression and should not be made the subject of discussion. Allah is unlike anything in His creation, and nothing of His creation encompasses Him.
The nobility of knowledge is according to the nobility of what is known, and there is nothing greater than knowledge of Allah, His Names, Attributes, and Actions.
Allah تعالى says:
“So know that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah.” [Muhammad: 19]
Learning Allah’s Names and Attributes and understanding their meanings is therefore among the causes of increasing faith in Allah, reverence for Him, and love of Him.
Accordingly, learning what has been authentically established in the Qur’an and Sunnah concerning Allah’s Attributes is not a marginal matter. Rather, it is connected to the fundamental knowledge a servant has of his Lord. Each person learns according to his need, ability, and level of knowledge and faith.
There is no Islamic doctrine expressed by the term “the actual physical location of Allah.” Such ambiguous expressions should not be used regarding Allah.
The obligation is to affirm what Allah has affirmed for Himself and what His Messenger ﷺ affirmed for Him, while declaring Allah free from resemblance to His creation.
Allah تعالى says:
“There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.” [Ash-Shura: 11]
This includes what has been established regarding Allah’s exaltedness above His creation and His establishment above His Throne.
Allah تعالى says:
“He is the One who created the heavens and the earth in six days, then established Himself above the Throne. He knows what enters the earth and what emerges from it, what descends from heaven and what ascends therein. And He is with you wherever you are. And Allah sees all that you do.” [Al-Hadid: 4]
Ahl al-Sunnah affirm Allah’s exaltedness above His creation and His establishment above His Throne, while also affirming His being with His servants. They do not say that Allah is indwelling in any of His creation.
It means that Allah is above His creation, established above His Throne, and that none of His creation encompasses Him. He is independent of all His creation, while all creation is dependent upon Him.
This does not mean that the heavens or the Throne encompass or contain Allah. Allah created the Throne and the heavens and is completely independent of all His creation.
Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله explained that when the early Muslims said that Allah is above the Throne and above everything, they did not mean that anything encompasses Him or serves as a container for Him. Rather, Allah is above His creation and independent of it, while all creation is in need of Him.
Asking about Allah, His Names, and His Attributes is not forbidden in itself when the purpose is to seek knowledge and understand what is established in the Qur’an and Sunnah.
The Sunnah records that the Prophet ﷺ asked a slave woman:
“Where is Allah?”
She replied:
“Above the heavens.”
He ﷺ then said to her master:
“Set her free, for she is a believer.”
Narrated by Muslim (537).
This hadith is among the texts that Ahl al-Sunnah use as evidence for affirming Allah’s exaltedness.
However, a distinction should be made between asking about the Attribute as it is conveyed in the texts and asking about its exact nature or manner in a way that resembles the attributes of created beings. The exact manner of Allah’s Attributes is known only to Allah.
A Muslim is required to believe in what has come in the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger ﷺ, including what has been authentically established concerning Allah’s Attributes.
As for detailed terminology and intricate theological debates, they are not equally obligatory upon everyone. A person should learn what he needs to maintain sound belief and worship, and increase his knowledge according to his ability and needs.
Therefore, this matter should not be turned into a source of obsessive doubts or fruitless argumentation that distracts a Muslim from his obligations and worship.
Knowing that Allah is above His creation and established above His Throne is an important matter of Islamic creed, supported by the Qur’an and Sunnah.
However, it is not appropriate to describe it as “the actual physical location of Allah,” because this is not a scriptural Islamic expression and may suggest incorrect meanings.
The obligation is to believe that Allah is above His creation and established above His Throne, while declaring Him free from resemblance to created beings and without believing that anything from His creation encompasses or confines Him.
As for ordinary Muslims, they should learn from these matters what is necessary for sound belief and what they need, without becoming involved in unnecessary technical terminology and theological disputes.
And Allah knows best.