Some say: “He is above the Throne and is not a body.”
Others say: “He is above the Throne and is a body.”
Still others say: “He is above the Throne, but I say neither that He is a body nor that He is not a body.” Among this last group, some refrain from either denial or affirmation because both are innovations in religion. Others seek clarification of what is meant by “body.” If it is explained as something from which the Lord must be declared free, they deny it and explain that His being above the Throne does not entail it. If it is explained as something that does describe the Lord, they do not deny that meaning.
In ordinary Arabic, “body” means the bodily frame, and Allah is exalted above that. Speculative theologians may use “body” to mean something composed of indivisible atoms or of matter and form. Many of them dispute that created bodies are composed of either of these. Indeed, most rational people hold that the heavens are composed neither of indivisible atoms nor of matter and form. How, then, could the Lord of all worlds be composed of either?
Whoever says, “Allah is a body,” and means by “body” a composite of this kind is mistaken. Whoever intends to deny such composition of Allah is correct in denying it of Him, but should use wording that makes his meaning clear. The term “composition” may mean that something was assembled by someone, that its parts were separate and then came together, or that it can be taken apart. Allah is exalted above all of this.