uses of “with” in the Quran and Sunnah entail neither contact nor intermingling. We therefore had no need to take direct contact as its apparent meaning and then interpret it otherwise. As for “nearness,” it is like “closeness,” and the opposite of nearness is distance. Its apparent linguistic meaning is thus clear. It is therefore understood either in that sense, or in what is said to be the apparent meaning indicated by the context, or contrary to its apparent meaning on the evidence of the remaining texts.

Al-Tabarānī and others narrated:

“Some people asked the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—‘Is our Lord near, so that we may address Him quietly, or distant, so that we must call out to Him?’ Allah Most High then revealed: ‘When My servants ask you about Me, I am indeed near. I answer the call of the supplicant when he calls upon Me.’”

May Allah bless Muhammad.