Surah An-Nahl (16) — Ayah 50

➊ {يَخَافُوْنَ رَبَّهُمْ مِّنْ فَوْقِهِمْ … : ’’ مِنْ فَوْقِهِمْ ‘‘ ’’ رَبَّهُمْ ‘‘ } is a circumstantial qualifier, meaning they fear their Lord while He is above them. From this, it is understood that Allah, the Exalted, is above the Throne, and all Ahl al-Sunnah are unanimous on this. To say that Allah is everywhere is not correct, because this is against {’’ اَلرَّ حْمٰنُ عَلَی الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوٰي ‘‘}. However, it should be remembered that according to the Qur’an and Hadith, it is established that Allah is above the Throne, but how is unknown; nor did any of the Companions ask the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) about its modality. Therefore, Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “Allah’s being established above the Throne is known, but its modality is unknown, so to ask about its modality is an innovation.” Some people say that Allah is neither above nor below, neither to the right nor to the left, neither in front nor behind, rather He is without place, meaning He is nowhere, because the Throne and place are His creation; if He is believed to be on the Throne or in a place, then He would be dependent on His creation. Among those who deny Allah being above or on the Throne, some have gone so far as to say that it is not even permissible to say, “Where is Allah?”
May Allah guide these people; their statement is in clear contradiction to the numerous verses of the Qur’an in which Allah’s being above the Throne or above is mentioned. The result of their statement is that, in reality, Allah does not exist at all. As for the claim that this would necessitate Allah being in need of the Throne or a place, this is baseless, because many things below depend on things above for their existence, for example, a fan or a bulb under a ceiling. There is nothing like Allah, so the Throne and place, though being Allah’s creation, are dependent on Allah for their creation and existence, while Allah is not dependent on anyone, because He existed always, even before creating them. However, none of His attributes or His essence is like the attribute or essence of any creation. Those who have issued a fatwa that the question “Where is Allah?” is impermissible should consider upon whom their fatwa falls. In Sahih Muslim, it is narrated from Muawiyah bin Hakam al-Sulami (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: [ كَانَتْ لِيْ جَارِيَةٌ تَرْعَی غَنَمًا لِيْ قِبَلَ أُحُدٍ وَالْجَوَّانِيَّةِ، فَاطَّلَعْتُ ذَاتَ يَوْمٍ فَإِذَا الذِّئْبُ قَدْ ذَهَبَ بِشَاةٍ عَنْ غَنَمِهَا، وَأَنَا رَجُلٌ مِنْ بَنِيْ آدَمَ، آسَفُ كَمَا يَأْسَفُوْنَ، لٰكِنِّيْ صَكَكْتُهَا صَكَّةً، فَأَتَيْتُ رَسُوْلَ اللّٰه صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَعَظَّمَ ذٰلِكَ عَلَيَّ، قُلْتُ يَا رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ ! أَفَلاَ أُعْتِقُهَا ؟ قَالَ ائْتِنِيْ بِهَا، فَأَتَيْتُهُ بِهَا، فَقَالَ لَهَا أَيْنَ اللّٰهُ ؟ قَالَتْ فِي السَّمَاءِ قَالَ مَنْ أَنَا؟ قَالَتْ أَنْتَ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ ، قَالَ أَعْتِقْهَا، فَإِنَّهَا مُؤْمِنَةٌ ] [ مسلم، المساجد، باب تحریم الکلام فی الصلاۃ… : ۵۳۷ ] “I had a slave girl who used to graze my sheep and goats near Uhud and Jawaniyah (mountains). One day I saw that a wolf had taken one of her sheep. I am a man from the children of Adam, I get angry as they get angry, but I slapped her. Then I came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), and he considered it a great (sin) upon me. I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah! Should I not free her?’ He said: ‘Bring her to me.’ I brought her to him, and he said to her: ‘Where is Allah?’ She said: ‘In the sky.’ He said: ‘Who am I?’ She said: ‘You are the Messenger of Allah.’ The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: ‘Free her, for she is a believer.’ According to this authentic hadith, the one who asked the question “Where is Allah?” is the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), and he declared the slave girl a believer whose answer was that He is in the sky. Now, those who declare this question impermissible and say Allah is without place should consider upon whom their fatwa falls, and if they consider themselves followers of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), they should immediately repent from these wrong beliefs. Otherwise, on the Day of Resurrection, they may not even be able to show their faces. The scholars have written many books containing Qur’anic and Hadith proofs for Allah being above. See the book of Hafiz Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) {’’اَلْعُلُوُّ لِلْعَلِيِّ الْغَفَّارِ‘‘} and the book of Ibn Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) {’’اَلْجُيُوْشُ الْإِسْلاَمِيَّةُ ‘‘}, likewise, the famous Muslim philosopher Ibn Rushd has written a lengthy detail on this subject in {’’ مَنَاهِجُ الدَّوْلَةِ ‘‘}.

➋ Rabī‘ah bin ‘Abdullah bin Hudayr says that he was present with ‘Umar bin Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) during the Friday sermon. He recited Surah al-Nahl on the pulpit, and when the verse of prostration came, he descended and performed prostration, and the people also prostrated, until the next Friday came and he recited the same Surah, and when the verse of prostration came, he said: “O people! When we recite the verse of prostration, whoever prostrates has done right, and whoever does not prostrate, there is no sin upon him,” and ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) did not prostrate. [ بخاری، سجود القرآن، باب من رأی أن اللّٰہ عز و جل لم یوجب السجود : ۱۰۷۷ ] From this, it is understood that if one performs prostration upon the verse of prostration, there is reward, but it is not necessary or obligatory. However, there is no doubt that by not prostrating, one will not attain the reward of prostration.

50. 1 They remain trembling and fearful of Allah. 50. 2 They do not disobey Allah’s command, rather, they carry out what they are commanded, and keep away from what they are forbidden.

50. They fear their Lord above them, and they do what they are commanded [49].

[49] When no one else has any share in the creation and management of this universe, then how can they benefit or harm you? And if they are powerless and incapable in both these matters, then what is the need for you to fear them? One should fear only the One who has control over this universe. And that is only Allah Almighty alone, therefore worship should be done purely for Him alone, all your needs should be presented before Him alone, and only this path can be considered reasonable.

Prostration of Recitation is Not Obligatory:

One should perform prostration (sajdah) on this verse, however, the prostration of recitation is not obligatory. Thus, Rabi’ah bin Abdullah bin Hudair Taimi says that once Sayyiduna Umarؓ recited Surah An-Nahl on the pulpit on a Friday. When he reached the verse of prostration, he descended from the pulpit and performed prostration, and the people also performed prostration with him. On the next Friday, he again recited the same Surah. When he reached the verse of prostration, he said: "People! We continue to recite the verse of prostration, so whoever performs prostration has done well, and whoever does not, there is no sin upon him." And Sayyiduna Umarؓ did not perform prostration, and Nafi’ narrated from Ibn Umarؓ that Allah Almighty has not made the prostration of recitation obligatory; He has left it to our discretion. [بخاری، کتاب الصلوۃ۔ باب من رای ان اللہ عز و جل لم یوجب السجود]