his statement that God is above the heavens. The Almighty has also said, “Do you feel secure that He who is in the heaven will not cause the earth to swallow you?” (al-Mulk 16). The heavens lie beneath the Throne; because the Throne is above the heavens, He said, “Do you feel secure that He who is in the heaven…,” meaning that He is established over the Throne which is above the heavens. Whatever is higher than something else may linguistically be called a ‘heaven’; the Throne is the loftiest of the heavens. Thus, when He says, “Do you feel secure that He who is in the heaven…,” He is not referring to the whole expanse of heaven, but specifically to the Throne that is above the heavens. Do you not see that God mentions the heavens and says, “and He placed the moon therein as a light” (Nūḥ 16)? He certainly did not intend that the moon fills all the heavens or resides in every part of them.

We have also seen all Muslims, without exception, raise their hands toward the sky when they supplicate, because God is upon the Throne which is above the heavens. If God were not upon the Throne, they would not lift their hands toward it—just as they do not lower them when they pray toward the earth.