those who

“have not given Allah His due. On the Day of Resurrection, the entire earth will be in His grasp, and the heavens will be rolled up in His right hand. Glory be to Him! Exalted is He above whatever they associate with Him!”

Likewise, their “second belief”—that one may direct oneself toward a celestial sphere from any of the six directions—is erroneous by the agreement of rational people versed in astronomy, as well as rational people who know that a firm intention necessarily leads to carrying out what is intended insofar as possible.

It has thus become clear that each of the two premises is erroneous according to both reason and revelation, and that hearts may direct themselves toward Him only upward, not in any other direction, under every conceivable supposition: whether the Throne is the ninth celestial sphere or something else; whether it encompasses the celestial sphere and is spherical in shape, or is above it without being spherical; and whether the Creator—glory be to Him—encompasses created things as He encompasses them in His grasp, or is above them in the upward direction from us, above our heads, rather than in the opposite direction.

Under whichever supposition is proposed, both premises of the question are false. When we supplicate to Allah Most High, we direct ourselves toward Him only upward, not in any other direction, just as we have been innately disposed to do. The answer to the question thus becomes clear in several ways. And Allah knows best.