Aslam

Praise be to Allah.We

put this question to Shaykh ‘Abd al-Rahmaan al-Barraak (may Allaah

preserve him), who answered as follows:

, the Most High (al-‘Aliy),

the Almighty (al-‘Azeem),

the Most Great (al-Kabeer),

the Most High (al-Muta’aal).

Glory be to Allaah, the Almighty (al-‘Azeem).

There is no god but Allaah, and Allaah is Most Great. And peace and

blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and companions…

One

of the things which it is obligatory to believe in is that Allaah is the

Most High (al-‘Aliy, al-A’laa)

and that He rose over the Throne, as He has told us about Himself in His

Book. He, may He be glorified and exalted, is above all things. The

Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said in his du’aa’:

“You are the Most High (al-Zaahir)

and there is nothing above You.”

We

are also obliged to believe that He is the Most Great (al-Kabeer),

and that He is greater than all things, and that He is the Almighty (al-Azeem),

and there is nothing mightier than Him. Part of the perfection of His

might and power is that He will grasp the heavens and the earth in His two

Hands on the Day of Resurrection, as He says (interpretation of the

meaning):

“They

made not a just estimate of Allâh such as is due to Him. And on the Day

of Resurrection the whole of the earth will be grasped by His Hand and the

heavens will be rolled up in His Right Hand. Glorified be He, and High be

He above all that they associate as partners with Him!” [al-Zumar 39:62]

It

must be noted that because Allaah is perfect in His Highness and Power, He

cannot reside in anything that He has created. So it cannot be said that

He is in Paradise. On the contrary, He is above the Throne which is the

roof of al-Firdaws, and al-Firdaws is the highest part of Paradise. The

Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When you

ask Allaah for Paradise, ask Him for al-Firdaws, for it is the highest

part of Paradise and it is in the middle of Paradise, and its roof is the

Throne of the Most Merciful.”

It

is not permissible for the Muslim to think about the essence of Allaah, or

to try to imagine His might, for the human mind is incapable ot

comprehending the real essence and attributes of the Lord, and how they

are. As Imaam Maalik said, when he was asked about how Allaah rose over

the Throne: “We know that He rose over it, but we do not know how.

Believing in it is obligatory and asking about it is bid’ah.”