You say that we leave the meaning of the Istiwa ? Imam Abu HanifahAbu Muti ' AlBalkhi reportedI asked Imam Abu Hanifah about a person who says , ' I do not know whether my Rubb is , above the heavens or on earth ? ' Abu Hanifah , may Allah grant him His mercy , said ' A person who makes such a statement becomes an apostate because Allah , the Exalted says , ' The Merciful has ascended above the ' Arsh , and the ' Arsh of Allah is above His heavens '. I further asked Abu Hanifah , ' What if such a person admits , Allah is above His ' Arsh , but exclaims , I do not know whether His ' Arsh is above the heavens or on earth '. Abu Hanifah responded ' If he denies that the ' Arsh is above the heavens , he is an apostate . SharhutTahawiyyah , p . 288 Imam MalikAbdullah bin Nafi ' reported Malik bin Anas said ' Allah is above the heavens , but His knowledge encompasses everything . Nothing escapes His knowledge . ' Abdullah bin Ahmad , asSunnah , and others . Imam AshShafi ' eeImam ashShafi ' ee saidThe creed which I hold is the same creed the Muslims before me were holding , namely , the Testimony of Faith There is no god worthy of being worshipped except Allah , that Muhammed is the Messenger of Allah , and that Allah is above His ' Arsh , above the heavens . He descends to the lowest heaven whenever He wishes . AlJuyoosh alIslamiyyah , Ibn alQayyim , p . 93 Imam ibn Khuzaimah , a Shafi ' ite himself , said Whoever disacknowledges that Allah is above His ' Arsh , above His seven heavens , and that He is separated from His creatures , is a Kafir , unbeliever . Such person must be ordered to repent and disavow his belief , or else he must be beheaded and thrown on a garbage dump so that neither AhlulQiblah nor Ahludthdthimmah be annoyed by the foul odor of his carcass . IbidAbu Bakr Muhammad atTamimi , a Shafi ' ite imam of Naisaboor , saidI do not pray behind a person who denies the attributes of Allah and does not recognize that Allah is above His ' Arsh . IbidImam AhmadHe was asked Is Allah above His ' Arsh , above the seventh heaven , separate from His creatures , and is His knowledge and power encompassing everything everywhere ? He replied ' Certainly , He is above His ' Arsh and nothing escapes His knowledge . AlJuyoosh alIslamiyyag , Ibn alQayyim , p . 123 . Have you heard the famous statement of Imaam Malik about the ascension of Allh ? That the ascension is known but the ' how ' is not known , and asking about the ' how ' in innovation ? So your argument against me rests on the premise that all of those narrations from the early salaf are fabricated or weak ? That argument gets you nowhere because these narrations are well known and authentic . AbulHasan alAsharee said And He has two Eyes without any mention of how . alAsharee , AlIbaanah an Usool adDiyaanah , p . 9 and Maqaalaat p . 290 Abul Hasan alAsharee d . 324 H who wrote in AlIbaanah an Usool adDiyaanah p . 133 The ruling concerning the Speech of Allaah , the Mighty and Majestic , is that it is taken upon its apparent dhaahir and real meaning . Nothing is removed from its apparent meaning to a metaphorical one except with a proof . Imaam Ahmad ibn Hanbal d . 241 H said The hadeeth , in our estimation , is to be taken by its apparent dhaahir meaning , as it has come from the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam . Usool as Sunnah no . 27 of Imaam AhmadAlKhattaabee d . 388 H said The madhab of the Salaf with regard to the Attributes of Allaah is to affirm them as they are with their apparent dhaahir meaning , negating any resemblance to the creation and without asking how they are . AlGhuniyah an Kalaam wa Ahlihi , as quoted in Mukhtasar alUluww p . 257 no . 311 . See also alAsmaa wasSifaat 2 p . 198 of alBayhaqeeAlKhateeb alBaghdaadee d . 463 H said As for speech about the Attributes of Allaah , what is authentically related about them in the Sunnah , then the way of the Salaf , may Allaah be pleased with them all , was to affirm them all as they are , upon their apparent dhaahir meaning . AlKalaam alasSifaat pp . 1920 of alBaghdaadeeShaykh AbdulQaadir alJeelaanee d . 561 H said It is essential to carry the Attribute of alIstawaa Allaahs ascending upon its apparent sense . it is related from them i . e . the Salaf that they carried the meaning of Istawaa with its apparent meaning . AlGhuniyatutTaalibeen 150 of AbdulQaadir alJeelaaneeIbn Qudaamah d . 620 H said The way of the Salaf is to have faith in the Names and Attributes of Allaah that He has described Himself with in His Revelation , or upon the tongue of His Messenger sallallahu alayhi wa sallam , without increasing or decreasing upon it , nor exceeding the limits , nor explaining them , nor making taweel of them in a way which opposes the apparent dhaahir meaning . DhammutTaweel p . 11 of Ibn QudaamahAlHaafidh ibn AbdulBarr d . 463 H wrote AhlusSunnah are agreed in affirming all of the Attributes which are related in the Quraan and the Sunnah , having faith in them and understanding them in a real sense alalhaqeeqah not metaphorically . ibn AbdulBarr , AtTamheed 7145 Ishaaq ibn Ibraheem arRaahawaih d . 238 H said Tashbeeh is if it is said Hand like my hand , or similar to my hand , it is saidHearing like my Hearing , or similar to my hearing , then this is tashbeeh . But if what is being said is what Allah has said Hand , Hearing Seeing , and it is not asked how , nor is it saidlike my hearing , or similar to my hearing then it is not tashbeeh resemblance . Allaah , the Most Blessed and Most High , said in His BookThere is none like Unto Him , and he is the allhearing , the allSeeingSoorah ashShooraa 4211 Abu Hafs Ibn Shaaheen d . 385 H , rahimahullaah Abdullaah ibn Sulaimaan ibn Ash ' ath asSijistaanee narrated to us My father narrated to me from Sulaimaan ibn Harb , who said Hammaad ibn Zaid saidThe likeness of the Jahmiyyah is like a man to whom it is said ' Do you have a date palm tree in your grounds ? ' So he says ' Yes . ' Then it is said to him ' Does it have fresh green branches ? ' He responds ' No . ' Then it is said to him ' Does it have dried up branches ? ' He reponds ' No . ' Then it is said to him ' Does it have low or fallen branches on the ground ? ' He reponds ' No . ' Then it is said to him ' Does it have a trunk ? ' He responds ' No . ' Then it is said to him ' Does it have roots ? ' He responds ' No . ' So it is said to him ' You have no date palm tree in your grounds ! ' It is said to the Jahmiyyah ' Do you have a Lord ? ' They say ' Yes . ' Then it is said to them ' Does He speak ? ' They respond ' No . ' Then it is said to them ' Does He have a Hand ? ' They respond ' No . ' Then it is said to them ' Does He have a foot ? ' They respond ' No . ' Then it is said to them ' Does He have a finger ? ' They respond ' No . ' Then it is said to them ' Does He become pleased and does He get Angry ? ' They respond ' No . ' So it is said to them ' You have no Lord ! ' AlKitaab alLateef liSharh Madhahib AhlusSunnah , no . 35 . The narration is saheeh , reported by Abdullaah ibn Ahmad in asSunnah , 9 , 10 and others . Speaking about those narrations which mention the attributes of Allah , Imaam atTirmidheed . 279 Hsaid in his Sunan 1128129 It has been stated by more than one person from the People of Knowledge about such narrations , that there is no tashbeeh resemblance to the Attributes of Allaah , and our Lord , the Blessed and Most High , descends to the lowest heaven every night . So they say ' Affirm these narrations , have Eemaan faith in them , do not deny them , nor ask how . ' The likes of this has been related from Maalik ibn Anas , Sufyaan athThawree , Ibn Uyainah and Abdullaah Ibn alMubaarak , who all said about such narrations ' Leave them as they are , without asking how . ' Such is the saying of the People of Knowledge from Ahl usSunnah walJamaa ' ah . However , the Jahmiyyahoppose these narrations and say ' This is tashbeeh ! ' However , Allaah the Most High , has mentioned in various places in His Book , the Attribute of alyad Hand , asSama ' Hearing , and alBasr Seeing but the Jahmiyyah make ta ' weel of these aayaat verses , explaining them in a way , other than how they are explained by the People of Knowledge . They say ' Indeed , Allaah did not create Aadam with His own Hand they say that Hand means the Power of Allaah '. uwaste 2 muchtime if I was to ask you then , where is Allh , what would you say ?