He said:

“We have, in several places in this book, disallowed applying the term ‘direction’ to Him.”

He said:

“The correct view is that this may be said, because Ahmad affirmed this attribute—His establishment over the Throne—and affirmed that He is in heaven. Everyone who affirms this affirms direction.”

He said:

“The evidence for this is that the Throne is in a direction, without dispute, and the explicit text of the Quran establishes that He is established over it. This entails that He is in a direction. Moreover, every person of sound mind, whether Muslim or unbeliever, raises his hands and face toward heaven when supplicating. This is sufficient.”

He said:

“Furthermore, those among the Mutazilites and Asharīs who deny direction say, ‘He is neither in a direction nor outside it.’ Someone who says this is like someone who affirms that one being exists alongside another, yet the existence of the one neither precedes nor follows that of the other.

“Moreover, ordinary people make no distinction between saying, ‘I sought him but found him nowhere,’ and saying, ‘I sought him and found that he did not exist.’”

[Ibn Taymiyya’s comment]

I say: The issue on which the judge expressed differing views was also disputed among Ahmad’s followers and others. One group maintained that being above creation is among the attributes known through revelation and transmitted reports, like the Face, the Hand, and similar attributes. This is the position of various groups among those who affirm the divine attributes. Consequently, those later proponents of affirming the attributes who denied the attributes known through revelation and transmitted reports also denied His being above creation, such as the followers of the author of al-Irshād.