you may be told: If a being without a limit is conceivable in this sense, then it is all the more conceivable that a being should be above the Throne without being described as either finite or infinite. This means that it is impossible for Him either to have a limit or to possess infinite spatial extent. For if this is conceivable of a being considered without qualification, nothing prevents that being from being described as above the Throne while retaining those characteristics. Indeed, this is more consistent with reason, for innate human dispositions affirm that Allah is above the world and reject the existence of a being who is neither within the world nor outside it. Thus, acknowledging His existence outside the world accords more closely with human nature and reason. If it is permissible to say that He is not finite, meaning that His essence cannot be described as either finite or infinite in magnitude, the same may be said of Him while He is above the Throne.

If someone says, “This being above the Throne, or this exaltedness above it, is inconceivable,” or says, “No exaltedness or elevation is conceivable except in the sense of extending in spatial directions,” he is told: Knowing and conceiving of an attribute depends on knowing and conceiving of the one who possesses it. Thus, demanding to know how He is exalted, when you cannot conceive of His true reality, is to combine two opposites. If you acknowledge that He exists, then acknowledging that His essence is above the Throne in a manner befitting His essence is, indeed, easier for reason to accept than acknowledging that He is neither within the world nor outside it. Moreover, acknowledging that He has no spatial extent or magnitude does not contradict acknowledging that He is outside the world and above it, as