The Belief Of True Salaf
Allah is Attributed with Perfection
Bismillah, Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds, to Him belong the endowments and the befitting perfections and commendations. I ask Allah to raise the rank of Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, and to protect his nation from that which he fears for it, Thereafter:
The saying that Allah, ta^ala, exists without a place is the belief and the creed of the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, the Companions and the True Salaf and Khalaf, those who graciously followed them, and it shall be until the Day of Judgment. The proof of this precious statement is what Allah said in the Qur’an, in Surat ash-Shura, ayah 11 which means: “There is nothing like Him and He has the attribute of Hearing and Seeing.” This ayah absolutely and totally clears Allah of resembling the creation. It comprises that Allah, ta^ala, is different from the creations in the Self, Attributes, and Doings. Hence, it shows that Allah, ta^ala, exists without a place, because the one who exists in a place would, by nature, be composed of atoms, i.e., he would be a body, occupying a space, and Allah, ta^ala, is clear of occupying spaces.
Al-Bukhariyy, al-Bayhaqiyy and Ibn al-Jarud related that the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, said which means: “Allah existed eternally and there was nothing else.” This hadith proves that Allah was alone in al-‘azal, (the status of existence without a beginning,) i.e., before creating any of the creation. There was nothing with Him: no place, no space, no sky, no light, and no darkness. It is determined in the rules of the Religion and the judgments of the sound mind that Allah, the Exalted, does not change. Hence, it is impossible that after having been existing without a place, He would become in a place, because this is a development, and the development is a sign of needing others, and the one who needs others is not God.
Imam Abu Hanifah, who is one of the authorities of as-Salaf, said in his book Al-Fiqh al-Absat:
“Allah existed eternally and there was no place. He existed before creating the creation. He existed, and there was no place, creation, or thing; and He is the Creator of everything.”
Imam al-Hafidh al-Bayhaqiyy said in his book, Al-Asma’u was-Sifat, on page 400: “…. What was mentioned towards the end of the hadith is an indication of denying Allah has a place and denying the slave is alike to Allah, wherever he was in proximity or remoteness. Allah, the Exalted, is adh-Dhahir–hence, it is valid to know about Him by proofs. Allah is al-Batin–hence, it is invalid that He would be in a place.”
He also said: “Some of our companions used as a proof to refute the place to Allah the saying of the Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam : ‘You are adh-Dhahir and there is nothing above You, and You are al-Batin and there is nothing underneath You.’ Therefore, if there is nothing above Him and nothing underneath Him, He is not in a place.”
The true Salafiy, Imam Ahmad Ibn Salamah, Abu Ja^far at-Tahawiyy, who was born in the year 237 after Hijrah, and was one of the Heads of Great Salaf wrote a book called Al-^Aqidah at-Tahawiyyah. He mentioned that the content of his book is an elucidation of the creed of Ahl as-Sunnah wal Jama^ah, which is the creed of Imam Abu Hanifah, who died in the year 150 after al-Hijrah, and his two companions, Imam Abu Yusuf al-Qadi and Imam Muhammad Ibn al-Hasan ash-Shaybaniyy and others.
He said in his book:
“Allah is supremely clear of all boundaries, extremes, sides, organs and instruments. The six directions do not contain Him–these are attributed to all created things.“
Such is the saying of Imam Abu Ja^far who is among the heads of as-Salaf. He explicitly stated that Allah is clear of being contained by the six directions. The six directions are above, below, in front of, behind, right, and left.
The linguist and scholar of hadith, Imam Muhammad Murtada az-Zabidiyy, narrated by a continuous chain from himself back to Imam Zayn al-^Abidin ^Aliyy Ibn al-Husayn Ibn ^Aliyy Ibn Abi Talib, (who was among the first of as-Salaf, who earned the title of as-Sajjad, i.e., the one who prays a lot), that Zayn al-^Abidin said in his treatise as-Sahifah as-Sajjadiyyah about Allah: which means: “O Allah, You are clear of all imperfection. You are Allah, the One Who no place contains You.”
He also said which means: “O Allah, You are clear of all imperfection. You are Allah, the One Who is not in boundaries.”
In the explanation of al-Bukhariyy in the chapter on Al-Jihad, Hafidh Ibn Hajar said:
“The fact that the two directions above and below are impossible to be attributes of Allah, does not necessitate that Allah would not be attributed with aboveness, because attributing aboveness to Allah is a matter of status and the impossibility lies in it being physical.”
