Thus, this very Paradise—whose roof, the Throne, rises above the celestial spheres—is nonetheless said to be “in heaven,” for heaven here simply denotes height. Whether that height lies above the spheres or beneath them, the term retains the same sense. Allah, Exalted is He, says: “Let him, then, stretch a rope up to the sky” (Q 22:15), and He says: “We sent down from the sky pure water” (Q 25:48).

Because those addressed had already internalized that Allah is the Most High, exalted above everything, the phrase “Who is in heaven” was naturally understood to mean that He is in the heights, above all that exists.

In the same vein, when the slave-girl was asked, “Where is Allah?” she answered, “In heaven.”