The ʿUluw of Allah & Ṣalah

behind the one who denies it.

By: Shāykh al-ʿAllāmah Ḥamūd bin ʿUqlā al-Shuʿaybī.

Question: As-salāmu ʿalaykum wa-raḥmatu Allāhi
wa-barakātu. After that,

What is the ʿAqīdah of ʾAhl al-Sunnah wa al-Jamāʿah

regarding the Ṣifāt of Allah and His establishment on His
throne? What is the ruling on those who deny the ʿuluw of
Allah and His establishment on His throne? Can they be
considered as Imāms in prayer? Please advise us and may
Allah reward you. We hope that the answer is supported by
evidence from the Qurʾān and Sunnah.

Answer:

All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of worlds, and peace

and blessings be upon the noblest of prophets and
messengers, our Prophet Muḥammad, and upon his
family and all his companions. ʾAhl al-Sunnah wa
al-Jamāʿah, may Allah have mercy on them, are
unanimously agreed upon the belief that Allah, exalted
be He, is established on His throne, high above all His
creation. Those who deny this are only those whose
insight has been blinded, such as the Jahmiyyah,
Muʿtazilah, and other deviant sects who have turned
away from the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His
Prophet, and have followed their own intellects and the
opinions of their scholars.
The ʿ Uluw of Allah - Jalla wa ʿalā - is affirmed in the
Qurʾān, Sunnah, reason (ʿaql), and innate nature (fitrah):

Regarding the Qurʾān, it is filled with explicit texts

indicating the ʿuluw of Allah, exalted be He, above all His
creation in various ways and multiple forms. Firstly,
there are explicit statements affirming His
establishment on His throne, which are mentioned in
seven places in the Noble Qurʾān. Secondly, there are
statements using the words “al ʿAlī” (The Most High)
and “all- ʾAʿlā" (The Highest), such as when Allah,
exalted be He, says, "And He is the Most High, the Great"
[Qurʾān 4:34].

And He says, "To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens

and whatever is on the earth. And He is the Most High,
the Most Great" [Qurʾān 42:4].

And He says, "Exalt the name of your Lord, the Most

High" [Qurʾān 87:1].

And He says, "Except those who seek the face of their

Lord, the Most High" [Qurʾān 92:20].

Thirdly, there are statements using the word

"Fawqiyyah" (Above) in several places, such as when
Allah, exalted be He, says, “And He is the Subjugator
above His servants” [Qurʾān 6:18].

And He says, “They fear their Lord above them, and they
do what they are commanded” [Qurʾān 16:50].

Fourthly, there are statements indicating the ascent of

things to Him, such as when Allah, exalted be He, says,
“To Him ascends the good word, and the righteous deed
raises it” [Qurʾān 35:10].

And He says, "And [mention] when Allah said, 'O Jesus,

indeed I will take you and raise you to Myself'" [Qurʾān
3:55].

And He says, "Rather, Allah raised him to Himself"

[Qurʾān 4:158].

And He says, "The angels and the Spirit will ascend to

Him" [Qurʾān 70:4].

Fifthly, there are statements indicating the descent of

things from Him, such as when Allah, exalted be He,
says, "Ha, Meem. The revelation of the Book is from
Allah, the Exalted in Might, the Knowing" [Qurʾān 40:1].

And He says, “Ḥa, Meem. The revelation from the Most

Merciful, the Merciful" [Qurʾān 41:1].
 The reason for using these two types of statements
(ascent and descent) is that it is inconceivable for
something to ascend or be raised except from a lower
position to a higher one, and it is inconceivable for
something to descend or be revealed except from a
higher position to a lower one.

Sixthly, there are statements indicating that Allah,

exalted be He, is in the heavens, such as when Allah,
exalted be He, says, "Do you feel secure that He who
[holds authority] in the heaven would not cause the earth
to swallow you?" [Qurʾān 67:16].

And He says, "Do you feel secure that He who [holds

authority] in the heaven would not send against you a
storm of stones?" [Qurʾān 17:68].

As for the Sunnah, it is abundant with narrations that

indicate the ʿUluw of Allah above His creation. For
example, the Prophet Muhammad - Ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi
wa-sallam - informed us that Allah is in the heavens. He
said, "Do you not trust me while I am trustworthy in the
heavens?"

And he said to the slave girl, "Where is Allah?" She

replied, "In the heavens." He asked, "Who am I?" She
said, "You are the Messenger of Allah." He said, "Set her
free, for she is a believer." This hadith indicates that the
Prophet, Ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam, testified to her
belief when she said that Allah is in the heavens.

Furthermore, in the supplication for the sick, the

Prophet, Ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam, said, "Our Lord
is Allah who is in the heavens."

And when he delivered his sermon in the Gathering

during Hajj, he raised his finger towards the heavens and
said, "O Allah, bear witness.”

As for reason (ʿAql), it indicates that Allah, exalted be He,

is above. It is said to the denier of ʿUluw of Allah: Either
Allah exists or He does not exist – exalted is Allah above
that.

In both interpretations, the denier of the ʿUluw of Allah

is compelled to invalidate his claim because it cannot be
that Allah is either above or below, and asserting that He
is below is false, as it implies that Allah is present within
His creation, which is disbelief unanimously agreed upon
by the Salaf. Therefore, the only remaining option is the
second category, which is that Allah, glorified and
exalted be He, is above. Thus, it is necessary to believe in
His ʿUluw.

Secondly, through logical reasoning and categorization

as well, is above or below, to the right or left, in front or
behind. When we examine the directions, we find that
the highest position is the most honorable, and Allah,
exalted be He, is deserving of the highest position.
Therefore, it is necessary to believe in His ʿUluw.

As for the innate disposition (fitrah), all rational people

are inclined to turn towards the ʿUluw of Allah¹ when
supplicating, seeking refuge, or in times of distress. This
is a clear indication that Allah is in the high position.
This is evident in the dialogue between Al-Hamdhānī
and Al-Juwāynī, where Al-Hamdhānī came to the
gathering of Al-Juwāynī while he was teaching his
students and raised the issue of denying the ʿuluw of
Allah above His creation. Al-Hamdhānī said to
Al-Juwāynī, “O teacher, inform us about this necessity
that we find in ourselves. Whenever a person turns to
Allah, he feels a necessity within himself that Allah is in
the highest position.” Al-Juwāynī descended from his
chair, struck his head, and said, "Al-Hamdhānī has
confused me, Al-Hamdhānī has confused me.”

______________________________

¹Meaning our hands face towards the sky & not the vice-versa.
As for the ruling on those who deny the ʿUluw of Allah,
they commit kufr unless they are ignorant of the textual
evidence that affirms the attribute of ʿUluw. Many
scholars have ruled that those who deny the ʿUluw of
Allah commit disbelief. For example, Imām Abū Ḥanīfā,
when asked by Abu Muṭiʿ al-Balkhī about someone who
denies the ʿuluw of Allah on His throne and His highness
above His creation, he said, “He is a disbeliever.” Abu
Muṭiʿ asked, "What if he says that Allah is established on
the throne, but I do not know whether His throne is in
the heavens or on the earth?" Abu Ḥanīfā replied, "He is
a disbeliever.”

Imam of Imāms Muḥammad ibn Khuzāymah also ruled

that those who deny the ʿUluw of Allah above His
creation are disbelievers. He said, “He is a disbeliever
who should be given the opportunity to repent. If he
repents, then it is accepted. Otherwise, his neck should
be struck and his body thrown into the garbage with the
carcasses of the dead.”

As for the ruling on the ʾimāmah (leadership) of those

who deny the ʿUluw of Allah, it is invalid. It is not valid to
follow them or appoint them as imāms in prayer, as
many scholars have ruled that they are disbelievers.

This is what could be mentioned in this important

matter. If we were to delve into the refutation of the
doctrine of these Jahmiyyah who deny the ʿUluw of Allah
above His creation and examine their fallacious
arguments, it would require a lengthy discussion.
However, what has been mentioned should be sufficient
for those seeking guidance. May Allah grant us success,
and may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet
Muḥammad, his family, and all his companions.