That is the first point.

Secondly, this hadith contains two blessed statements. The first is: “Show mercy to those upon the earth.” Its corroborating reports are extremely numerous, narrated from a number of the Companions. Al-Hafiz Ibn Nasir al-Din al-Dimashqi comprehensively collected them in the gathering referred to above, when documenting the sources of the hadith. It has recently been published in an edition prepared by our virtuous brother Abu Abd Allah Mahmud ibn Muhammad al-Haddad. Consult its hadith index, and you will find their names and references to the locations of their reports therein. Some of them are narrated by both al-Bukhari and Muslim. Among them is the report of Usamah ibn Zayd, cited in Ahkam al-Jana'iz (163–164), with the wording:

“Allah shows mercy only to those of His servants who are merciful.”

The other statement is: “May He who is above the heaven have mercy on you.” It is authentic, as has preceded. Our virtuous brother mentioned above has discussed it at length. It is the statement that has utterly undone that falsifier—indeed, broken his back—for the particle “in” in it plainly bears the same meaning as in the first statement: namely, “upon.” None but an obstinate person would dispute this. Thus, it confirms that this particle has precisely the same meaning in Allah’s saying: “Do you feel secure from Him who is above the heaven?” That is, above the heaven; that is, above the Throne. This is how the early and later scholars explained it, including Ibn Abd al-Barr in al-Tamhid and al-Bayhaqi in his two books, al-Asma' and al-I'tiqad.

That falsifier knows this fact, yet stubbornly persists. He rejects the authentic hadith so that he may call this explanation “figurative reinterpretation,” while calling his negation of the meaning of the noble verse “exegesis,” in accordance with the saying: “She charged me with her own malady, then slipped away.” Thus, he says (p. 65): “That is, the Possessor of might, exaltedness, and majesty—namely Allah, Most High ...”

He reaffirms this negation elsewhere (p. 139), adding—may his mouth be shattered:

“The verse is given a figurative interpretation by the anthropomorphists as: ‘He who is above the heaven’ ...”