Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.
This argument may contain a truth intended to support something false.
The truth is that Allah تعالى is exalted above being contained by any of His creation or encompassed by any of it. The statement of Ahl as-Sunnah, “Allah is in the heaven,” does not mean that the heaven contains or surrounds Him.
The falsehood is to use this as a basis for denying Allah’s exaltedness above His creation, or to give people the impression that when Ahl as-Sunnah say, “Allah is in the heaven,” they mean that Allah تعالى is physically inside the heavenly body or confined within it.
This is not what Ahl as-Sunnah mean.
They did not establish this belief based on human speculation, but affirmed Allah’s exaltedness above His creation based on what is established in the Qur’an and Sunnah.
The word “heaven” can be used in the language and in Islamic texts with two meanings:
Elevation and loftiness.
The created physical body known as the heaven above us.
When Ahl as-Sunnah say, “Allah is in the heaven,” the word “heaven” may refer to loftiness, meaning that Allah تعالى is above His creation and exalted over them.
If “heaven” refers to the created physical body, then the word “in” may sometimes carry the meaning of “upon”.
Allah تعالى says:
﴿So travel freely throughout the land for four months﴾ [At-Tawbah: 2].
That is, travel upon/on the land.
And He سبحانه says, quoting Pharaoh:
﴿And I will surely crucify you on the trunks of palm trees﴾ [Ta-Ha: 71].
That is, upon the trunks of palm trees.
For this reason, Hafiz Ibn Abd al-Barr رحمه الله explained Allah’s saying:
﴿Do you feel secure that He who is in the heaven will not cause the earth to swallow you?﴾ [Al-Mulk: 16]
as meaning: the One who is above the heaven, that is, above the Throne. He mentioned that “in” can carry the meaning of “upon” in Arabic.
Shaykh Ibn Uthaymin رحمه الله explained that the statement of Ahl as-Sunnah, “Allah is in the heaven,” may be understood as meaning that “in” means “upon”, namely that Allah تعالى is above the heaven.
It may also be that “in” indicates location when what is intended by “heaven” is loftiness, so the meaning is that Allah تعالى is in the realm of exaltedness.
But if “heaven” means the physical created bodies, it is not correct to understand “in” as meaning that Allah تعالى is inside them or surrounded by them. That would be false, because Allah تعالى is too great for any of His creation to encompass Him.
Allah تعالى says:
﴿And they cannot encompass Him in knowledge.﴾ [Ta-Ha: 110].
So how could it be imagined that any of His creation could encompass Him?
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله explained that when the early generations, the imams, and Ahl as-Sunnah said:
“Allah is above the Throne, and He is in the heaven above everything,”
they did not mean that there is something containing or confining Allah تعالى, or that any created thing is a place or container for Him.
Rather, Allah سبحانه is above everything and independent of everything, while every created being is in need of Him.
Allah تعالى is independent of the Throne and all of His creation, while the Throne and all created things are dependent upon Him سبحانه.
Therefore, Allah’s exaltedness must not be understood as an exaltedness that requires a created being to carry Him or contain Him.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله explained that the word “heaven” may be a generic term for anything that is elevated and high; it does not necessarily refer to a particular created physical body.
Accordingly, Allah’s saying:
﴿Do you feel secure that He who is in the heaven﴾
may mean: the One who is in the realm of exaltedness.
Allah تعالى is Al-‘Aliyy Al-A‘la — the Most High, the Exalted, possessing the highest exaltedness, above the Throne, glorified and exalted is He.
The intended meaning is not that Allah تعالى is confined inside any created thing, but rather to affirm His exaltedness and His being above His creation in a manner befitting His Majesty.
The statement of Ahl as-Sunnah, “Allah تعالى is in the heaven,” does not mean that Allah تعالى is inside the physical heaven, that the heaven surrounds Him, or that He is situated among the angels.
Rather, it means to affirm Allah’s exaltedness and His being above His creation: He is above them, exalted over them, independent of them, while all of them are dependent upon Him.
The word “heaven” in this context may refer to loftiness, and if it refers to the created physical heaven, the word “in” may carry the meaning of “upon” in Arabic.
Therefore, there is no contradiction between affirming Allah’s exaltedness and declaring Him free of being contained by any of His creation. Allah تعالى is above His creation, and none of His creation encompasses Him.
And Allah knows best.