and that He is in heaven, above all things,” they do not mean that anything contains Him, confines Him, or serves as a place, container, or vessel for Him. Glorified and exalted is He above that! Rather, He is above everything and has no need of anything, while everything needs Him. He is high above everything, and through His strength and power He sustains the Throne and its bearers. Every created being needs Him, while He has no need of the Throne or any created being.

Some may understand expressions found in the Book and the Sunnah, such as His words, “Do you feel secure from Him who is in heaven?”, to mean that “heaven” refers to the elevated creation itself—the Throne and whatever is beneath it. They therefore say that “in heaven” means “above heaven,” just as He says, “I will surely crucify you on the trunks of palm trees,” where “on the trunks” translates an expression literally meaning “in the trunks”; and, similarly, “Travel throughout the earth,” meaning “over the earth.”

There is no need for this, however. Rather, al-samā’ (heaven) is a generic term for what is above, not restricted to any particular thing. Thus, His words “in heaven” mean “on high, not below.” He is the Most High, the Highest; His is the highest elevation, above the Throne. There is none there but Him, the Most High, the Highest—glorified and exalted is He.

As for those who say that He is everywhere, according to them He is in lowly, filthy, foul created things just as He is in elevated created things. The extremists among them are the proponents of union, who say, “Existence is one,” such as Ibn ‘Arabī al-Tā’ī, the author of “Fusūs