an angel.” (1) So do not spit to your right, for there is an angel at your right; nor in front of your face, for Allah is before your face. (2) Thus, only the left remains, so he should spit to his left, as the Prophet ﷺ instructed. (3)

If someone were to say: This hadith presents two difficulties:

The first difficulty is this: How can Allah be before the face of the worshipper when we believe and know that Allah, Exalted is He, is above His Throne?

The answer to this may be given from several angles:

First: A person must submit and never raise the questions “Why?” or “How?” regarding the attributes of Allah. Say: “I believe and affirm as true. I believe that Allah is above His Throne, above His heavens, and that He is before the face of the worshipper. Beyond this, I have nothing to add. This is how it has come to us from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.” This approach removes many difficulties and protects you from suppositions that Satan, or his troops, may cast into your mind.

Second: The texts affirm both matters. This point may perhaps branch from the one before it: the texts do not combine two contradictions, for the conjunction of two contradictions is impossible, whereas what the texts indicate is not impossible.

Third: Allah, Mighty and Majestic, is not to be compared to His creation. Suppose that—