Something analogous to this, in certain respects, is that when the Messenger of Allah saw something of this world that pleased him, he would say: “At Your service! Truly, the real life is the life of the Hereafter.” (1) For when a person sees something of this world that pleases him, he may become attached to it and thus turn away from Allah. So he says, “At Your service!” in response to Allah, then steadies himself by saying, “Truly, the real life is the life of the Hereafter.” This life that pleases you is a fleeting life; the true life is the life of the Hereafter. Therefore, it is from the sunnah that, when a person sees something of this world that pleases him, he should say: “At Your service! Truly, the real life is the life of the Hereafter.”

What is meant by highness in the words, “Glory be to my Lord, the Most High”: highness of place, or highness of attribute?

The answer is: it encompasses both. This is universally recognized by people’s innate disposition—except by those whom the devils have led away from their natural disposition. Allah’s highness in His Essence is something upon which mankind has been naturally created. If you were to ask an ordinary person, “What do you mean when you say, ‘Glory be to my Lord, the Most High’?” he would reply, “I mean that He is above everything,” though he may not know about highness of attribute. Yet His highness in His Essence has been denied by some of those who face our qiblah. There is no doubt that they have opposed the Quran, the sunnah, the consensus of the righteous predecessors, reason, and innate disposition. Were they to return to their innate nature, they would realize that belief in Allah’s highness in His Essence is indispensable and must be affirmed. For whenever something befalls them, their hearts turn towards the heaven, towards what is above.