He said:

It was narrated to us from ‘Abd al-Mun‘im, from his father, from Wahb ibn Munabbih:

“When Moses, peace be upon him, was called from the tree, ‘Take off your sandals,’ he hastened to respond and repeatedly answered the call. This was only because he found comfort and reassurance in the voice. He said, ‘I hear Your voice and sense Your presence, but I do not know where You are. Where are You?’ He said, ‘I am above you, before you, behind you, encompassing you, and nearer to you than your own self.’”

The meaning is: “I know you better than you know yourself. When you look ahead, what lies behind you is hidden from you; when you raise your gaze to what is above you, you lose sight of what is beneath you. But nothing about you is hidden from Me, whatever your circumstances.”

Similar to this are the words of the devout Rābi‘ah al-‘Adawiyyah, who said:

“They have distracted their hearts from Allah with love of this world. If they abandoned it, their hearts would roam through the heavenly kingdom, then return to them with beneficial insights.”

She did not mean that their bodies and hearts roam through heaven by actually dwelling there. Rather, they roam there through thought, intention, and directed attention.

Likewise, Abū Mmndiya al-A‘rābī said:

“I looked into the Fire and saw the poets crowded together”—meaning, gathered together. He cited this line:

“Fine horses lie fallen there, crowded together.”

And if someone were to say, concerning the statement of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, “I looked into Paradise