to the earth when He created it, and of His descent to speak to Moses, and other such reports—all belong to the same category, as in His words, Exalted is He:

“Do they await anything but that Allah should come to them in canopies of clouds?”

And His words:

“And your Lord comes, and the angels, rank upon rank.”

And His words:

“Do they await anything but that the angels should come to them, or your Lord should come, or some of your Lord’s signs should come?”

Those who deny and negate His attributes deny His coming altogether, saying, “There is nothing beyond what occurs within created things.” Those who hold that He indwells creation say that He comes in such a way that one place becomes unoccupied by Him and another becomes occupied: what is above the Throne becomes unoccupied by Him, and some created things come to be above Him. Thus, when He comes, according to their position, He would no longer be the Most High, the Highest, nor would He be the Most High, the Magnificent. This is especially so if they say that some created thing contains Him and is therefore greater than Him. Glorified and exalted is He, far above what both groups say!

The same applies to His words:

“Do you feel secure from Him who is in heaven?”

If anyone has said that He is inside heaven, his statement is worse than theirs. However, I know of no specific person associated with learning who has said this, such that I could report it as a position.

Whoever says, “He is in heaven,” means that He is on high, not that He is inside the celestial spheres, although some ignorant people imagine this. A group has supposed that this is the apparent meaning of the wording.