ALLAH EXISTS WITHOUT A PLACE – PROOF FROM QURAN, SUNNAH & CONSENSUS

Hadith of Al-Bukhariyy

The Prophet ﷺ said:

«كانَ اللَّهُ وَلَمْ يَكُنْ شَىءٌ غَيرهُ »

kanallah wa lam yakun shay`un ghayruh

which means: “Allah Existed Eternally and there was nothing else”. Narrated by Al-Imam Al-Bukhariyy[1], Al-Hafidh Al-Bayhaqiyy and Al-Hafidh Ibnul-Jarud.

The Hadith makes it very clear that Allah existed and there was no time, no place, no space, no air, no direction, no up, no above, no left, no right, no ahead, no behind, no sky, no earth, no darkness, no light, no soul, no spirit, no father, no son, no sound, no uttered letter, no language, no body, no colour and no created thing. [And so Allah the Exalted was Existing, before the place without a place, and He is the Creator of place and so He is not in need of it.]

“Who created time and place?” Answer: Allah. It is confirmed by the Qur`an that Allah created everything. [Allah revealed in Surah Al-Furqan (S25), Ayah 2:
(وَخَلَقَ كُلَّ شَىْءٍ) which means “He (Allah) Created everything”]
Following on from this, if it was asked, “Prior to the existence of time and place, did Allah exist?” the answer would be, “Yes”. Hence Allah existed prior to the existence of time and place and after creating time and place Allah exists without being bound by time and place.

Hadeeth of Muslim and the Saying of Al-Bayhaqiyy

Al-Hafidh (Al-Lughawiyy An-Nahwiyy Al-Faqih Al-Hujjah fil-Fiqh wal-Hadith), Abu Bakr Ahmad ibnul-Husayn Al-Bayhaqiyy Ash-Shafi^iyy [D: 458AH] in his book Al-Asma` Was–Sifat said[2]:

وَاسْتَدَلَّ بَعْضُ أَصْحَابِنَا فِي نَفْيِ الْمَكَانِ عَنْهُ-أي عن الله- بِقَوْلِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «أَنْتَ الظَّاهِرُ فَلَيْسَ فَوْقَكَ شَيْءٌ وَأَنْتَ الْبَاطِنُ فَلَيْسَ دُونَكَ شَيْءٌ » اﻫ. فَإِذَا لَمْ يَكُنْ فَوْقَهُ شَيْءٌ وَلَا دُونَهُ شَيْءٌ لَمْ يَكُنْ فِي مَكَان» اﻫ.

which means: Some of our companions used as a proof in clearing Allah from being in the place, the saying of the Prophet ﷺ:

«أَنْتَ الظَّاهِرُ فَلَيْسَ فَوْقَكَ شَيْءٌ وَأَنْتَ الْبَاطِنُ فَلَيْسَ دُونَكَ شَيْءٌ »

which means “(O Allah), You are Adh–Dhahir so there is nothing above You, and You are Al-Batin so there is nothing beneath You.” As if there is nothing above Him and nothing below Him (this means) He is not in a place.

BENEFIT: The meaning of dun according to Mukhtar As-Sihah (Page 90)[3]:

«(دُونَ) ضِدُّ فَوْقَ»

dun diddu Fawq

which means: “Dun (below) is the opposite of Fawq (above)”

BENEFIT: Al-Imam Muslim narrated in Sahih Muslim[4], that the Prophet said:

«اللهُمَّ أَنْتَ الْأَوَّلُ فَلَيْسَ قَبْلَكَ شَيْء، وَأَنْتَ الْآخِرُ فَلَيْسَ بَعْدَكَ شَيْء، وَأَنْتَ الظَّاهِرُ فَلَيْسَ فَوْقَكَ شَيْء، وَأَنْتَ الْبَاطِنُ ‌فَلَيْسَ ‌دُونَكَ ‌شَيْء»

O Allah you are Al-Awwal and there is nothing before you (the place does not exist in Eternity, only Allah is Eternal), and You are Al-Akhir there is nothing after you. You are Adh-Dhahir there is nothing above you, and You are Al-Batin there is nothing below you.

Narrated by Muslim in his Sahih (Vol 4, Pg 2084, Hadith Number 2713), Abu Dawud in his Sunan(Vol 4, Page 312, Hadith Number 5051)[5], At-Tirmidhiyy in his Jami^ (Vol 5, Page 518, Hadith Number 3481)[6], Ibn Hibban in his Sahih (Vol 3, Page 246, Hadith Number 966)[7], An-Nasa`iyy in his Sunan (Vol 9, Pg 290, Hadith Number 10557), Ibnus-Sunniyy in ^Amalul-Yawmi Wal-Laylah (Page 440, Hadith Number 744)[8], and Al-Bayhaqiyy in Al-Asma` Was-Sifat. [Scholars and books from Shaykh Jamil Halim, Volume, Page Numbers from Shamela]

The Consensus

Al-Imam (^Abdul-Qahir ibn Tahir) Abu Masuur Al-Baghdadiyy [D: 429AH] narrated the consensus of the Muslims from the Salaf and the Khalaf that Allah exists without a place and without a direction. He said his book Al-Farqu Baynal-Firaq[9]: