Lord between Worshipper and Qiblah

 بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

In the Name of Allah, the Rahman, the Merciful

الصلاة والسلام عليك يا سيدي يا رسول الله

Prayers and peace upon you, my Master, Apostle of Allah

Allah ذو الجلال says in the Suhuf al-Mutahharah:

فَاَیۡنَمَا تُوَلُّوۡا فَثَمَّ وَجۡہُ اللّٰہِ

So wherever you turn, there is the Face of Allah

(Surah 2, Ayah 115)

The revelatory context of this Ayah is concerning the Qiblah or direction of worship. Hence, the Holy Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم said concerning worship in the direction of the Qiblah:

إِنَّ رَبَّهُ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ الْقِبْلَةِ

“Verily, his Lord is between him and the Qiblah” (Sahih al-Bukhari)

According to the methodology of the heretical Mushabbihah and Mujassimah (those who resemble God to His creation or conceive of God as corporeal), the Hadith should be interpreted to mean that Allah is literally, in His Person, in a place between the worshipper and the Qiblah. In reality, however, the Mushabbihah and Mujassimah of our time do not dare say this. This matter exposes their inconsistency, for the Mushabbihah and Mujassimah insist that Allah is literally seated upon the Throne in Heaven with His Person.

Hence, the great Muhaddith, Ibn Hajr al-Asqalani رحمة الله عليه commenting on this Hadith, says:

وَفِيهِ الرَّدُّ عَلَى مَنْ زَعَمَ أَنَّهُ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ بِذَاتِهِ

“In it is a refutation of the one who claims that He [Allah] is upon the Throne in His Person” (Fath ul-Bari, v.2, p.133)

So the doctrine of orthodox Sunni Islam is that Allah exists, in His Person, without being contained or encompassed inside a location. The one who believes God is inside the cosmos or contained in a created space is guilty of the heresy known as Hulul (indwelling) or Imtizaj (mixture). In the Tahawi Creed, which is universally agreed upon by the Sunni Muslims, it is stated:

لَا تَحْوِيهِ الجِهَاتُ السِتُّ

“He [Allah] is not contained by the six directions” (al-Aqidat ut-Tahawiyyah, #48)

One of the objections raised against this is that the Quran and Sunnah repeatedly and emphatically state that Allah is above the Throne, that He is in Heaven, that the Messiah عليه السلام was raised up to Him in Heaven, that the Prophet Muhammad عليه الصلاة والسلام ascended the seven Heavens to meet with Him, etc.

The meaning of all of this is that the heavenly Throne is the place of the manifestation of the glory of Allah. It is the place of His Tajalli (theophany) where He manifests His glory, the glory of His presence. But it does not mean He is seated upon the Throne literally with His Person, as Ibn Hajr al-Asqalani explained.