heaven.”

I say:

All of this agrees with what Ibn Kullāb stated. He cited this report—which contains the question “Where?” and the answer that He is in heaven—as evidence that Allah is above His Throne, above heaven. It is therefore clear that Ibn Kullāb does not disallow asking “Where?”; rather, he affirms it.

The passages we have quoted verbatim from al-Ash‘arī thus make it clear that he agrees with Ibn Kullāb that Allah is above His creation, and that this is a rational necessity, such that anyone who denies it is denying the Creator and rejecting His oneness. Al-Ash‘arī expressly stated this, in agreement with Ibn Kullāb. He also agrees with him on asking “Where?” concerning Allah and answering that He is in heaven, as al-Ash‘arī himself mentioned.

He also rejects interpreting rising over the Throne as dominion, subjugation, power, or other meanings that apply equally to the Throne and to other things. Rather, rising over pertains specifically to the Throne, and He is above the Throne; it is not merely something brought into being in the Throne without Allah being above it. He has explained this meaning elsewhere [هـ] in his writings.

These are the three points on which Ibn Fūrak claimed that they differed, yet he supplied nothing from al-Ash‘arī’s own words to substantiate his claim. This book is among