❖ Excerpt taken from the book “Allāh Kahān Hai?” by Shaykh Ghulām Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri (حفظه الله)
Following the Qur’an and authentic Sunnah, let us review the clear statements from the noble Sahābah (may Allah be pleased with them all) regarding the location and transcendence of Allah:
When the Prophet ﷺ passed away, Abū Bakr رضي الله عنه said:
من كان يعبد محمدا، فإن محمدا قد مات، ومن كان يعبد الله فإن الله في السماء حي ، لا يموت.
“Whoever used to worship Muhammad ﷺ should know that Muhammad has died. But whoever worships Allah, then indeed Allah is above the heavens, Living and never dies.”
— [al-Tārīkh al-Kabīr by al-Bukhārī 1/202, Musnad al-Bazzār: 103, al-Radd ʿala al-Marrīsī by al-Dārimī 1/518-519]
Authentication:
Hāfiẓ al-Haythamī رحمه الله wrote:
“Narrated by al-Bazzār, and its narrators are those of Ṣaḥīḥ except ʿAlī ibn al-Mundhir, and he is trustworthy.”
— [Majmaʿ az-Zawā’id: 8/332]
Hāfiẓ al-Dhahabī رحمه الله declared its chain authentic
— [Kitāb al-ʿArsh: 2/159]
He said:
ويل لديان الأرض من ديان السماء...
“Woe to the judges of the earth from the Judge of the heavens on the Day they meet Him—except the one who judged with justice, not based on desires, relationships, or inclinations, but who placed the Book of Allah before his eyes.”
— [al-Radd ʿala al-Marrīsī by al-Dārimī 1/515-516, al-ʿUlūw by al-Dhahabī, p. 78]
Chain: Authentic
He said:
“The distance between each heaven is 500 years, and between the earth and the first heaven is also 500 years. Between the seventh heaven and the Kursī is 500 years, and between the Kursī and the water is another 500 years. The Throne is above the water, and Allah is above the Throne, and He knows your deeds.”
— [Kitāb at-Tawḥīd by Ibn Khuzaymah 1/242-243, al-Radd ʿala al-Jahmiyyah: 81, al-Muʿjam al-Kabīr by Ṭabarānī 9/202]
Authentication:
Hāfiẓ al-Haythamī: “Its narrators are of Ṣaḥīḥ.”
— [Majmaʿ az-Zawā’id 1/86]
Hāfiẓ al-Dhahabī: Chain is Ṣaḥīḥ
— [al-ʿUlūw, p. 84]
He said to ʿĀʾishah رضي الله عنها:
أنزل الله براثتك من فوق سبع سماوات.
“Allah revealed your exoneration from above the seven heavens.”
— [Musnad Aḥmad 1/276, al-Radd ʿala al-Jahmiyyah by al-Dārimī, Mustadrak al-Ḥākim 4/8]
Authentication: Ḥākim graded it Ṣaḥīḥ, and al-Dhahabī agreed.
Also narrated in:
نزل عدرك من السماء.
“Your exoneration descended from the sky.”
— [Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 4753]
Another narration from him:
“Before the trumpet blast, a caller will cry out: O people, the Hour has come. Both the living and dead will hear it. Allah will descend to the lowest heaven, and a caller will proclaim: To whom belongs the dominion today? To Allah—the One, the Compeller.”
— [al-Ahwāl by Ibn Abī ad-Dunyā: 27, Mustadrak al-Ḥākim 2/437]
Chain: Ḥasan
Narrated by Nāfiʿ:
Ibn ʿUmar went out to the outskirts of Madinah with companions. They set up food, and a shepherd passed by. Ibn ʿUmar invited him to eat. He replied, “I am fasting.” Ibn ʿUmar was astonished and offered to buy a sheep and give him meat to break the fast. The shepherd refused, saying the sheep belonged to his master.
Ibn ʿUmar tested him: “Say a wolf devoured it.”
The shepherd walked away, raising his finger toward the sky, saying:
فأين الله؟ — “So where is Allah?”
Ibn ʿUmar kept repeating this profound question, deeply moved. He later purchased the shepherd and his flock, freed the shepherd, and gifted him the flock.
— [Shuʿab al-Īmān by al-Bayhaqī: 4908]
Chain: Ḥasan
Ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنه reported:
بلغ أبا ذر مبعث النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم، فقال لأخيه: اعلم لي علم هذا الرجل الذي يزعم أنه يأتيه الخبر من السماء.
“When Abū Dharr heard about the Prophet’s mission, he told his brother: ‘Find out about this man who claims news comes to him from the sky.’”
— [Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 3522, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 2474]
She said regarding the murder of ʿUthmān رضي الله عنه:
ولكن علم الله من فوق عرشه أني لم أحب قتله.
“But Allah, from above His Throne, knows that I never supported his killing.”
— [al-Radd ʿala al-Jahmiyyah by al-Dārimī: 83]
Chain: Ṣaḥīḥ
Narrated by Anas bin Mālik رضي الله عنه:
After the Prophet ﷺ passed away, Abū Bakr and ʿUmar visited Umm Ayman. She began to weep. They asked why she wept, for the Prophet ﷺ had gone to a better place. She said:
“I know that, but I cry because revelation from the heavens has now ceased.”
Hearing this, both began to cry as well.
— [Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 2454]
Narrated by Anas رضي الله عنه:
كانت زينب بنت جحش تقول: إن الله أنكحني في السماء.
“Zaynab bint Jaḥsh used to say: Allah married me (to the Prophet ﷺ) from above the heavens.”
— [Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 7421]
All these authentic narrations and reports from the noble companions of the Prophet ﷺ affirm the same core belief:
❝Allah is above the heavens, above the Throne, distinct from His creation, and fully aware of everything.❞
This was the unanimous creed of the Salaf, based not on philosophy or analogy, but upon clear Qur'ānic texts and prophetic guidance.
✦ Belief of the Companions After Qur’ān and Sunnah
Following the Qur’an and authentic Sunnah, let us review the clear statements from the noble Sahābah (may Allah be pleased with them all) regarding the location and transcendence of Allah:
① Abū Bakr aṣ-Ṣiddīq رضي الله عنه
When the Prophet ﷺ passed away, Abū Bakr رضي الله عنه said:
من كان يعبد محمدا، فإن محمدا قد مات، ومن كان يعبد الله فإن الله في السماء حي ، لا يموت.
“Whoever used to worship Muhammad ﷺ should know that Muhammad has died. But whoever worships Allah, then indeed Allah is above the heavens, Living and never dies.”
— [al-Tārīkh al-Kabīr by al-Bukhārī 1/202, Musnad al-Bazzār: 103, al-Radd ʿala al-Marrīsī by al-Dārimī 1/518-519]
Authentication:Hāfiẓ al-Haythamī رحمه الله wrote:
“Narrated by al-Bazzār, and its narrators are those of Ṣaḥīḥ except ʿAlī ibn al-Mundhir, and he is trustworthy.”
— [Majmaʿ az-Zawā’id: 8/332]
Hāfiẓ al-Dhahabī رحمه الله declared its chain authentic
— [Kitāb al-ʿArsh: 2/159]
② ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb رضي الله عنه
He said:
ويل لديان الأرض من ديان السماء...
“Woe to the judges of the earth from the Judge of the heavens on the Day they meet Him—except the one who judged with justice, not based on desires, relationships, or inclinations, but who placed the Book of Allah before his eyes.”
— [al-Radd ʿala al-Marrīsī by al-Dārimī 1/515-516, al-ʿUlūw by al-Dhahabī, p. 78]
Chain: Authentic③ ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd رضي الله عنه
He said:
“The distance between each heaven is 500 years, and between the earth and the first heaven is also 500 years. Between the seventh heaven and the Kursī is 500 years, and between the Kursī and the water is another 500 years. The Throne is above the water, and Allah is above the Throne, and He knows your deeds.”
— [Kitāb at-Tawḥīd by Ibn Khuzaymah 1/242-243, al-Radd ʿala al-Jahmiyyah: 81, al-Muʿjam al-Kabīr by Ṭabarānī 9/202]
Authentication:Hāfiẓ al-Haythamī: “Its narrators are of Ṣaḥīḥ.”
— [Majmaʿ az-Zawā’id 1/86]
Hāfiẓ al-Dhahabī: Chain is Ṣaḥīḥ
— [al-ʿUlūw, p. 84]
④ ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما
He said to ʿĀʾishah رضي الله عنها:
أنزل الله براثتك من فوق سبع سماوات.
“Allah revealed your exoneration from above the seven heavens.”
— [Musnad Aḥmad 1/276, al-Radd ʿala al-Jahmiyyah by al-Dārimī, Mustadrak al-Ḥākim 4/8]
Authentication: Ḥākim graded it Ṣaḥīḥ, and al-Dhahabī agreed.Also narrated in:
نزل عدرك من السماء.
“Your exoneration descended from the sky.”
— [Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 4753]
Another narration from him:
“Before the trumpet blast, a caller will cry out: O people, the Hour has come. Both the living and dead will hear it. Allah will descend to the lowest heaven, and a caller will proclaim: To whom belongs the dominion today? To Allah—the One, the Compeller.”
— [al-Ahwāl by Ibn Abī ad-Dunyā: 27, Mustadrak al-Ḥākim 2/437]
Chain: Ḥasan⑤ ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما
Narrated by Nāfiʿ:
Ibn ʿUmar went out to the outskirts of Madinah with companions. They set up food, and a shepherd passed by. Ibn ʿUmar invited him to eat. He replied, “I am fasting.” Ibn ʿUmar was astonished and offered to buy a sheep and give him meat to break the fast. The shepherd refused, saying the sheep belonged to his master.
Ibn ʿUmar tested him: “Say a wolf devoured it.”
The shepherd walked away, raising his finger toward the sky, saying:
فأين الله؟ — “So where is Allah?”
Ibn ʿUmar kept repeating this profound question, deeply moved. He later purchased the shepherd and his flock, freed the shepherd, and gifted him the flock.
— [Shuʿab al-Īmān by al-Bayhaqī: 4908]
Chain: Ḥasan⑥ Abū Dharr al-Ghifārī رضي الله عنه
Ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنه reported:
بلغ أبا ذر مبعث النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم، فقال لأخيه: اعلم لي علم هذا الرجل الذي يزعم أنه يأتيه الخبر من السماء.
“When Abū Dharr heard about the Prophet’s mission, he told his brother: ‘Find out about this man who claims news comes to him from the sky.’”
— [Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 3522, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 2474]
⑦ ʿĀʾishah رضي الله عنها
She said regarding the murder of ʿUthmān رضي الله عنه:
ولكن علم الله من فوق عرشه أني لم أحب قتله.
“But Allah, from above His Throne, knows that I never supported his killing.”
— [al-Radd ʿala al-Jahmiyyah by al-Dārimī: 83]
Chain: Ṣaḥīḥ⑧ Umm Ayman رضي الله عنها
Narrated by Anas bin Mālik رضي الله عنه:
After the Prophet ﷺ passed away, Abū Bakr and ʿUmar visited Umm Ayman. She began to weep. They asked why she wept, for the Prophet ﷺ had gone to a better place. She said:
“I know that, but I cry because revelation from the heavens has now ceased.”
Hearing this, both began to cry as well.
— [Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 2454]
⑨ Zaynab bint Jaḥsh رضي الله عنها
Narrated by Anas رضي الله عنه:
كانت زينب بنت جحش تقول: إن الله أنكحني في السماء.
“Zaynab bint Jaḥsh used to say: Allah married me (to the Prophet ﷺ) from above the heavens.”
— [Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 7421]
Conclusion:
All these authentic narrations and reports from the noble companions of the Prophet ﷺ affirm the same core belief:
❝Allah is above the heavens, above the Throne, distinct from His creation, and fully aware of everything.❞
This was the unanimous creed of the Salaf, based not on philosophy or analogy, but upon clear Qur'ānic texts and prophetic guidance.
