without the man being inside the cup. Allah—to whom belongs the highest description—encompasses all His creation without being within any of His creation.

Another example: if a man built a house with all its amenities, then closed its door and left, he would still know how many rooms his house contained and how large each room was, without being inside the house himself.

Thus Allah, Mighty and Majestic—to whom belongs the highest description—encompasses everything He has created and knows its condition and its nature, without being within anything He has created.

As for the Jahmiyyah’s interpretation of the words of Allah, Mighty and Majestic:

“There is no private conversation among three but that He is the fourth of them” [al-Mujādilah: 7],

they said: “Allah, Mighty and Majestic, is with us and within us.”

He said: We replied, “Why, then, did you omit the beginning of the statement, where Allah