the sky was above the other and beneath the earth, and that the Throne—if it encompasses the world—was beneath the sky and beneath the earth, even though it is above both. It would follow that Paradise was beneath the earth and beneath Hell, even though it is above the heavens, the earth, and Hell. It would also follow that the people of Illiyyīn were beneath the people of Sijjīn, even though they are above them.

Since these implications and others like them are false, by the agreement of people of reason and faith, it is clear that the Creator’s being above the heavens does not entail His being beneath any created thing. Anyone who advances such an argument is merely appealing to a groundless imagining with no basis in reality, while claiming that it constitutes a rational proof. If he understands the true nature of the matter, he is an obstinate denier, arguing on the basis of what he knows to be false. If he does not understand its true nature, he is among the most ignorant of people concerning these rational matters, which accord with what the Messengers have conveyed, although he claims that they contradict revealed evidence. He is thus as the saying goes:

If you do not know, that is a calamity;
And if you do know, the calamity is greater.

[The second argument]

It may be said:

Suppose we do not accept what these people say. Is it not known to everyone that the heavens are above the earth; that the air is above the earth; that the clouds and birds are above the earth; that fish, animals, and trees are above the earth; that the angels in the heavens are above the earth; that the people of Illiyyīn are above the people of Sijjīn; and that the Throne is the highest of all created things?