and “the world” is a term for everything that exists other than Allah Most High. Thus, if anything other than Allah existed above it, there would be something other than Allah that He had not created and that was independent of Him—especially since you have made Allah dependent upon it. No rational person would say this, let alone a Muslim. This has already been discussed more extensively: when he stated, in the rational arguments, that Allah needs a spatial locus; when he stated, in the scriptural arguments, that spatial locus was among them; and elsewhere.

The sixth response: We have established more than once that above the worlds there is none but the Lord of the worlds. Nothing else is there, and nothing else shares His exaltedness in any respect whatsoever, let alone anything being above Him.

Regarding his statement, “That direction which lies in the upward direction cannot be supposed to exist devoid of this elevation,” he is told: There is no direction there apart from Allah. He is the existent One to whom one points, and it is impossible to point there to any existent other than Him. If you believe that there is an existent there to which one can point, then refute your own belief. Otherwise, people do not hold this belief. Disputing with someone over something he does not believe is a waste of time and a form of lying and slander.

The seventh response: Your statement, “Whatever is situated in that direction is elevated