the side corresponding to the earth’s surface, and that it is above the spherical heavens, just as the earth’s surface, laid out for its inhabitants, is above half of the spherical earth—or any other conceivable arrangement in which the Throne is above everything else without being spherical—then, on every such assumption, we turn towards Allah only upwards, not in any other direction.
It has thus become clear that, on every assumption, turning towards Allah can only be upwards, while He is upon His Throne, distinct from His creation. Whether it is also assumed that He encompasses created things as He encompasses them when they are in His grasp, or that He is above them without grasping and encompassing them, on either assumption He is above them and distinct from them. It is therefore clear that, on this assumption concerning the Creator and this assumption concerning the Throne, no unacceptable consequence or contradiction follows. This removes every doubt. Doubt arises only from two false beliefs.
The first:
To suppose that if the Throne is spherical and Allah is above it, Allah must necessarily be spherical; then to believe that, if He were spherical, one could properly turn towards something spherical, such as the ninth celestial sphere, from every direction. Both of these beliefs are erroneous and misguided. For although Allah is above the Throne, and even on the view that the Throne is spherical—whether it is the ninth sphere or something else—it is impermissible to suppose that He resembles the celestial spheres in their shapes, just as it is impermissible to suppose that He resembles them in their dimensions or attributes. Glory be to Him! Exalted is He far above what the wrongdoers say. Indeed, it has become clear that He is far too great and immense for created things, in relation to Him, to be