And this states that He, glorified be He, was above the Throne at that time, as the Quran indicates, just as He has stated that He rose over the Throne and that He is with us wherever we are. His being with us is a particular circumstance; the same applies to His being established over the Throne. Likewise, the other texts describe Him as being high above His Throne at this time. Thus, it is known that the Lord, glorified be He, has always been high above His Throne. If He were beneath the Throne or beneath some created beings for half the time, or all of it, this would contradict that.

Furthermore, it is established in the authentic hadith narrated by Muslim and others that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to say:

“O Allah, You are the First, and there is nothing before You. You are the Last, and there is nothing after You. You are the Outward, and there is nothing above You. You are the Inward, and there is nothing beyond You.”

This explicitly states that nothing is above Allah. His being the Outward is an inseparable attribute of His, just as He is the First and the Last; the same applies to His being the Inward. Thus, He always remains the Outward, with nothing above Him, and He always remains the Inward, with nothing beyond Him.

Furthermore, we have already discussed, in “The Question of Encompassing,” the report of Abū Dharr, Abū Hurayrah and Qatādah cited in explanation of these “four names,” which mentions lowering. It is among the reports demonstrating that Allah always remains high above created beings while being both the Outward and the Inward, and when He descends to the lowest heaven.