the statement that Allah is in heaven, meaning that heaven neither contains nor confines Him, nor carries nor supports Him. There is no doubt that this meaning is also correct, for Allah is not confined by His creatures. Rather, His Footstool encompasses the heavens and the earth, and the Footstool in relation to the Throne is like a ring cast into a vast desert. Likewise, He is neither dependent upon nor in need of anything else. Rather, He is independent of His creation, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of all, the One upon whom all depend. Thus, there is no contradiction between the two meanings. These people have, however, erred in rejecting the wording found in the Quran and Sunnah and in supposing that its unqualified use conveys a false meaning.

Some of them may be excused if they encounter someone who uses this wording to mean that heaven supports Him or covers Him from above. If someone judges a person who intends this meaning to be mistaken, he is correct. As for the former, he is correct both in his wording, since he uses the expression found in the scriptural text, and in the meaning explained above, since it is the true meaning indicated by that text. Some of them may, however, err in declaring someone who uses the latter expression a disbeliever when he intends the correct meaning. For someone who intends the correct meaning does not become a disbeliever merely by using an expression, even if he is acting improperly or doing something forbidden.

As for those who explain their statement, “He is not in heaven,” to mean that He is not above the Throne and that there is nothing above the heavens but sheer nonexistence, these are the misguided Jahmiyyah, who oppose the consensus of the prophets and the innate disposition of rational people.