And Pharaoh said:

‘O Hāmān, build me a tower so that I may reach the ways {36}—the ways into the heavens—and look upon the God of Moses. Indeed, I think he is a liar.’ [Ghāfir 36–37]

Thus he accused Moses of lying when he said that Allah is above the heavens. And He, glorified and exalted be He, says:

‘Do you feel secure that He who is above heaven will not cause the earth to swallow you, and suddenly it would shake? {16}’ [al-Mulk 16]

Above the heavens is the Throne; what He meant was the Throne, which is above the heavens. Do you not see that Allah mentioned the heavens and said:

‘And made the moon a light therein.’ [Nūh 16]

He did not mean that the moon fills them all or that it is in all of them.”

He said: “We see all Muslims raising their hands toward the Throne when they supplicate, just as they do not lower them toward the earth when they supplicate.”

Here he argues, on the basis of the Muslims’ consensus on raising their hands in supplication, that Allah is above the heavens, for they raise them toward Him Himself, not toward any created being.

His associate, Abū al-Hasan ‘Alī ibn Mahdī al-Tabarī, said:

“Al-Balkhī said: ‘If we are asked, “What is the meaning of our raising our hands toward heaven, and of His saying, ‘And righteous deeds raise it’ [Fātir 10]?” we reply: “The explanation is that, since people’s provision comes from heaven, we may raise our hands toward heaven when supplicating. It may also be said that our deeds are raised to Allah, since