Moreover, He has informed us that He is in the heaven, for He said:
“Do you feel secure that the One who is in the heaven will not cause the earth to swallow you up?” (Al-Mulk 16).
“Or do you feel secure that the One who is in the heaven will not unleash upon you a shower of stones?” (Al-Mulk 17).
And He said:
“To Him ascend the good words.” (Fāṭir 10).
He also said:
“I will take you and raise you up to Me.” (Āl ʿImrān 55).
“Rather, Allah raised him up to Himself.” (Al-Nisāʾ 158).
And He said:
“To Him belongs whoever is in the heavens and the earth, and those who are with Him.” (Al-Anbiyāʾ 19).
And He said:
“They fear their Lord above them 1.” (Al-Naḥl 50).
He said as well:
“Lord of the ways of ascent.” (Al-Maʿārij 3).
And He said:
“He is the All-Dominant above His servants.” (Al-Anʿām 18).
… impurity, it follows that declaring the Lord exalted and sanctified above any impurity is even more imperative, for the Lord is more deserving than anyone else of being declared free from all that others are purified of.
He—may Allah have mercy on him—then said in 2/541:
“The leading Imams, in their rebuttal of the Jahmiyya, cited what Muslims necessarily know through their senses, their intellects, and their religion: that He is far above being inside their stomachs and entrails, in addition to being free of filth, because this matter is closer to human perception and innate reason. The more self-evident a piece of knowledge is to one’s senses and intuition, the better it is grasped—especially when that perception and understanding are constantly renewed.”
(1) Here ends Ibn al-Qayyim’s quotation from Ijtima al-Juyush al-Islamiyya, pp. 201–202.
He—may Allah have mercy on him—then added:
“Abu Bakr al-Khallal included this entire treatise in his Kitab al-Sunnah, which gathers Ahmad’s textual statements; following his example, al-Bayhaqi compiled a work he entitled Jami al-Nusus min Kalam al-Shafii. Both are distinguished books that no scholar can afford to do without.”