so He is over the Throne, in the heavens, on earth, and everywhere. No place is devoid of Him, yet He is not in any place.’ They recited from the Quran:

‘And He is Allah in the heavens and on earth.’ [al-Anʿām 3]

We said, ‘Muslims recognize places in which there is nothing of the Lord’s greatness.’ We said, ‘Your entrails and bodily cavities, the insides of pigs, latrines, and filthy places contain nothing of the greatness of the Lord, glorified and exalted be He.’”

What Imam Ahmad stated here conveys the consensus of the Muslims. It also indicates that this is something recognized by the innate disposition upon which they were created. His expression, “of the Lord’s greatness,” is well chosen, for His name “the Magnificent” signifies greatness, which is His magnitude, as we have explained elsewhere.

He mentioned latrines and bodily cavities because Muslims’ knowledge of this is immediately evident to their senses and reason, and because these involve things above which the Lord must be exalted. Indeed, among the gravest aspects of the Christians’ disbelief is their claim that He dwells within a single human being; what, then, of someone who claims this concerning all human beings?

The same applies to his mention of the insides of pigs, latrines, and filthy places. As explained earlier, innate reason necessarily recognizes that the Lord must be declared exalted and holy above being in such places, directly adjoining them, or touching them.