[Refuting al-Rāzī and explaining how His being above is established through several rational arguments]

I say:

One may argue that His being above is established through several lines of rational evidence.

The first argument:

If reason establishes that He is separate from created things, that the world is spherical, and that being above in an absolute sense means being above the sphere, then it necessarily follows that He is above.

These premises are rational; none is merely rhetorical. For if the world is spherical, it has only two true directions: above and below. If He is separate from the world, He cannot be below, within it; He must therefore be above, separate from it.

As noted earlier, the one who denies this said, “The world is a sphere,” arguing for this from a lunar eclipse when it occurs earlier in eastern regions than in western ones.

The view that the celestial sphere is spherical is held by the overwhelming majority of Muslim scholars, and reports establishing this have been transmitted from the Companions and the Successors. Indeed, Abū al-Husayn ibn al-Munādī, Abū Muhammad ibn Hazm, Ibn al-Jawzī and others have stated that there is no disagreement on this among the Companions, the Successors and other Muslim scholars. Some groups among the proponents of speculative theology and rational opinion, including the Jahmiyyah, the Muʿtazilah and others, have disputed it.

Allah Most High says:

“It is He who created the night and the day, and the sun and the moon, each floating in an orbit.” [al-Anbiyā’: 33]

And He says:

“It is not for the sun to overtake the moon, nor does the night outstrip the day. Each floats in an orbit.” [Yā Sīn: 40]