Affirming and Negating a Makan (Place) for Allah

Nov 05, 2022

Almost all Sunnis, including Salafis, would negate a makan (place) for Allah in an Aristotelean sense, whereby such a makan would entail that all the six directions encompass Allah. All Sunnis agree that Allah cannot be encompassed.[1]

Nevertheless, the Prophet (peace be upon him) did attribute “whereness” to Allah in the famous hadith where he asks the slave girl, “Where is Allah?”[2] There is also a less popular story of a male shepherd who uttered, “Where is Allah?” with no objections from Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), who uttered the same.[3]

Salafis are comfortable attributing whereness to Allah in the emulation of the Prophet and companions, despite not attributing a place to Allah in the Aristotelean sense. This is why Salafis would not unrestrictedly negate makan (place) for Allah, as they would demand to know what the term means according to the person they are speaking to.

Shaykh al-Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

فإنه إن أراد بنفي المكان المكان المحيط بالله فهذا النفي صحيح، فإن الله تعالى لا يحيط به شيء من مخلوقاته، وهو أعظم وأجل من أن يحيط به شيء، كيف ﴿والأرْضُ جَمِيعًا قَبْضَتُهُ يَوْمَ القِيامَةِ والسَّماواتُ مَطْوِيّاتٌ بِيَمِينِهِ﴾.

وإن أراد بنفي المكان نفي أن يكون الله تعالى في العلو فهذا النفي غير صحيح، بل هو باطل بدلالة الكتاب والسنة، وإجماع السلف والعقل والفطرة، وقد ثبت «عن النبي ﷺ أنه قال للجارية: «أين الله؟». قالت: في السماء. قال لمالكها: "أعتقها فإنها مؤمنة»

“If what he intends by negating a makan is a makan that encompasses Allah, then this negation is correct, as nothing of Allah’s creation can encompass Him, may He be exalted. He is too great and too exalted to be encompassed by anything. How can it be otherwise when “the earth entirely will be [within] His grip on the Day of Resurrection, and the heavens will be folded in His right hand” [az-Zumar 39:67]?

But if what he intends by this negation is that Allah is not elevated, then this is not correct; rather, it is false according to the evidence of the Qur’an and Sunnah, the consensus of the early generations, reason and sound common sense.

It is proven from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) that he said to the slave woman: “Where is Allah?” She said: Up above (meaning above the heaven). He said to her master: “Manumit her, for she is a believing woman.” Narrated by Muslim (537).”[4]

It is one thing to negate makan for Allah conditionally, but how about affirming it for Allah with the correct meaning intended?

When we look at the Salaf, we find that very prominent scholars were comfortable affirming a makan for Allah.

Mujahid, the student of Ibn Abbas (d. 104 A.H.), said in regards to Allah's statement, “and drew him near” wa qarabnaahu najeeya (19:52):

بين السماء السابعة وبين العرش سبعون ألف حجاب حجاب نور وحجاب ظلمة وحجاب نور وحجاب ظلمة فما زال موسى عليه السلام يقرب حتى كان بينه وبينه حجاب فلما رأى مكانه وسمع صريف القلم قال رب أرني أنظر إليك

Between the seventh heaven and the Throne, there are 70,000 veils. These are veils of light and veils of darkness. Musa (on whom be peace) kept getting closer until there was a single veil between him (i.e., Musa) and Him (i.e., Allah). So when he saw His (i.e., Allah) place (makanahu) and heard the squeaking of the Pen, He said, My Lord, allow me to look at you [7:143].[5]

Hammad b. Zayd (d. 179 A.H.)[6] said in the following narration:

حدثنا جعفر بن محمد الفريابي حدثنا أحمد بن محمد المقدمي حدثنا سليمان بن حرب قال : سأل بشر بن السرى حماد بن زيد فقال : يا أبا إسماعيل الحديث الذي جاء « أن الله تبارك وتعالى ينزل إلى سماء الدنيا يتجول من مكان إلى مكان » فسكت حماد ثم قال : هو في مكانه يقرب من خلقه كيف شاء

Ja'far bin Muhammad al-Firyaabi - Ahmad bin Muhammad al-Muqaddami - Sulaiman bin Harb said: Bishr bin al-Sarri asked Hammad bin Zayd: Oh Abu Isma’eel, in regards to the hadith, “Allah descends to the heaven of this dunya,” does He shift from one place to another? Hammad remained silent and then said: “He is in His place (huwa fi makanihi) and gets near to His creation as He Wills.”[7]

Uthman b. Sa’eed ad-Darimi (d. 280 A.H.) affirmed it in several places in his response to al-Marrisi.[8]

Imam at-Tabari (d. 310 A.H.) relays that several were okay with mentioning Allah’s elevated makan (place).[9]

Undoubtedly, these scholars from the Salaf would not have intended by “place” that Allah is encompassed, but instead, they would have had in mind the “whereness” affirmed by the Prophet (peace be upon him) and companions.

Perhaps with this precedent from the Salaf, Ibn Taymiyyah did not find it objectionable to ascribe a makan to Allah.[10]

These scholars are not completely devoid of scriptural support for their affirmation of a makan. We read:

إنَّ اللهَ يُمْهِلُ حَتّى إذا ذَهَبَ ثُلُثا اللَّيْلِ هَبَطَ إلى هَذِهِ السَّماءِ، ثُمَّ أمَرَ بِأبْوابِ السَّماءِ فَفُتِحَتْ، ثُمَّ قالَ: «هَلْ مِن سائِلٍ فَأُعْطِيَهُ؟ هَلْ مِن داعٍ فَأُجِيبَهُ؟ هَلْ مِن مُسْتَغْفِرٍ فَأغْفِرَ لَهُ؟ هَلْ مِن مُسْتَغِيثٍ أُغِثه، هَلْ مِن مُضْطَرٍّ أكْشِف عَنْهُ الضُّرَّ؟»، فَلا يَزالُ ذَلِكَ مَكانَهُ حَتّى يَطْلُعَ الفَجْرُ فِي كُلِّ لَيْلَةٍ مِنَ الدُّنْيا، ثُمَّ يَصْعَدُ إلى السَّماءِ». زادَ فِيهِ يُونُسُ بْنُ أبِي إسْحاقَ زِيادَةً حَسَنَةً (١)

Allah provides respite until a third of the night has passed [when] He descends to this heaven. Then He commands the doors of heaven to open. Then He states: “Is there any requester so that I may give him? Is there any supplicant so that I may answer him? Is there any repenter so that I may forgive him? Is there any caller of help so that I may help him? Is there anyone undergoing hardship so that I may relieve him [of it]?” This will remain His makan until dawn breaks each night in this dunya. Then He ascends to the heaven.[11]

Nevertheless, can it be argued that the word makan can cause confusion today and that it is best to avoid ascribing it to Allah, especially with how it is so prevalently intertwined with the Aristotelean definition? This is a very reasonable point, especially when affirming the term unrestrictedly and without clarification. It is not my place to pass judgment on this matter, but I can only remind fellow Muslims about the undisputed general point regarding being clear about our terminological uses.[12]

Allah knows best.

Recommended Reading:

Allah's Divine Attributes Discourse

[1] Aristotle’s conception of place is circumscriptive in nature and refers to the boundary between contained and containing bodies. One may refer to chapter 4 of Aristotle’s book, Physics, to know more about his definition of place.

[2] See Sahih Muslim, Book 5, Hadith 39

[3] We read the following story reported in At-Tabaraani's Al-Mu'jam Al-Kabeer:

مَـرّ ابن عمر براعي غنم فقال : يا راعي الغنم هل مِن جَزرة ؟ قال الراعي : ليس ها هنا ربها ، فقال ابن عمر : تقول أكلها الذئب ! فرفع الراعي رأسه إلى السماء ثم قال : فأين الله ؟ قال ابن عمر : فأنا والله أحق أن أقول فأين الله ، فاشترى ابن عمر الراعي واشترى الغنم فأعتقه وأعطاه الغنم

Ibn 'Umar passed by a shepherd and said: O Shepherd, can we have one slaughtered sheep? The shepherd said: Their owner is not here. So Ibn Umar (wanting to test the man) said: Say that the wolf ate it! Then the shepherd raised his head to the sky and said: So then, where is Allah? Ibn Umar said: By Allah I have more right to say, "Where is Allah?" So Ibn Umar bought the shepherd and the sheep, set him free, and gave him the sheep. [Shaykh al-Albani declared its isnad to be Saheeh in his Silsila as-Saheeha].

This story is also relayed in a more detailed form in Al-Bayhaqi's Shu'ab Al-Eemaan, but instead of raising his head toward the sky, the shepherd pointed to the sky. The editor, Mukhtar Ahmad Al-Nadwi (مختار أحمد الندوي), in volume 7, p. 223, footnote no. 4908, said that the Isnaad is hasan.

[4] Majmu’ Fatawa wa-Rasa’il al-Uthaymeen, vol. 1, pp. 196-197

[5] Imam Adh-Dhahabi said that this narration’s transmission is firmly established from Mujahid, the Imam of Tafsir (هذا ثابت عن مجاهد إمام التفسير). Shaykh Al-Albani on narration no. 110 in Al-Mukhtasar Al-'Uluww comments as follows:

“Its isnaad is Saheeh. All of its men are trustworthy, and Al-Kawthari, the Jahmi, in his commentary on Al-Asmaa' criticized it based on the age of Ibn 'Ubaada, and he is a trustworthy narrator who is used as proof in the Saheehayn. And Shibil bin 'Abaad is trustworthy, and he is from the men of Al Bukhari, and when criticizing him, he said nothing more than “Qadri.” Is this a valid kind of criticism?”

[6] What follows is a small sample of what some scholars said about him.

'Abdul Rahman bin Mahdi said:

أئمة الناس في زمانهم أربعة : سفيان الثوري بالكوفة ، ومالك بالحجاز ، والأوزاعي بالشام وحماد بن زيد بالبصرة

“There were four Imams of the people at the time: Sufyan ath-Thawri in Kufa, Malik in Hijaz, Al-Awzaa'i in Shaam, and Hammad bin Zayd in Basra.”

Yahya bin Ma'een stated:

ليس أحد أثبت من حماد بن زيد . وقال يحيى بن يحيى النيسابوري : ما رأيت شيخا أحفظ من حماد بن زيد

“There is no one more diligent than Hammad bin Zayd. And Yahya b. Yahya an-Nisapouri said: I have not seen a Shaykh with a greater memory than Hammad b. Zayd.”

Imam Ahmad said:

حماد بن زيد من أئمة المسلمين ، من أهل الدين ، هو أحب إلي من حماد بن سلمة

“Hammad bin Zayd is from among the Imams of the Muslims. He is from the people of religion. He is more beloved to me than Hammad bin Salamah.”

[7] Abdullah b. Ahmad b. Hanbal narrated this in his Kitab Al-Sunnah (volume 1, page 273, no. 508); Ibn Mandah in his Kitab Al-Tawheed; Ibn Battah in his Al-Ibaanah Al-Kubra. The editor of the last book said "its isnaad is saheeh." Also reported by Al-Ajurri in his Kitab Ash-Sharee'ah (volume 3, page 1126) and the editor of that book said "its isnad is saheeh". Al-Daraqutni mentions it in his Kitab Al-Sifat and so does Adh-Dhahabi in his Kitab Al-'Uluww. Shaykh Al-Albani said in Mukhtasar Al-'Uluww: "Its isnad is saheeh". He also said that the wording found in Al-Ajurri also has a saheeh isnad.

[8] Two examples would suffice:

فقد أخبر الله العباد أين الله وأين مكانه، وأيَّنَه رسول الله في غير حديث

…

فهذا القرآن ينطق بأن الله تعالى يوصف بأين، وهذا رسول الله قد وصفه وعليه درج أهل المعرفة من أهل الإسلام، فمن أنبأك أيها المعارض غير المريسي أن الله لا يوصف بأين فأخبرنا به، وإلا فأنت المفتري على الله الجاهل به وبمكانه

[9] He said in his commentary on 2:255:

وقال آخرون: معنى ذلك: وهو العلي على خلقه بارتفاع مكانه عن أماكن خلقه، لأنه تعالى ذكره فوق جميع خلقه وخلقه دونه، كما وصف به نفسه أنه على العرش، فهو عال بذلك عليهم

[10] He said in his Bayan Talbees al-Jahmiyyah, vol. 3, p. 622:

ولا خلاف بين المسلمين الذين يقولون أنه مستو عليه أو مستقر أو متمكن عليه، والذين لا يقولون ذلك، أن العرش مفتقر إلى الله، والله غني عن العرش، بل هم متفقون على أن الله بقدرته الذي يمسك العرش وحملة العرش وسائر المخلوقات، هذا مع ما جاء في الآثار من إثبات مكانه تعالى

[11] This hadith is Saheeh. This isnad is hasan. See the grading of the editor of Sifaat Rabb al-‘Alameen li-Ibn al-Muhib as-Samit, vol. 2, p. 533.