Physical presence of God

Question:
I have one objection to one of your answers to the queries put forward to you on the web. You wrote that 'God was right next to you' and that the Qur'an was ambiguous about these things. Ambiguous may not be the right word but, I believe, it is quite close to what you implied. Can you back that up with something from the Qur'an or the Sunnah - especially when the Quran is so clear about it?

To Him ascend the angels and the Spirit in a day the measure of which is fifty thousand years. (70:4)

Whoever desires honor, then to Allah belongs the honor wholly. To Him do ascend the good words; and the good deeds, lift them up, and (as for) those who plan evil deeds, they shall have a severe chastisement; and (as for) their plan, it shall perish. (35:10)

And Firon said: O Haman! build for me a tower that I may attain the means of access, the means of access to the heavens, then reach the god of Musa, and I surely think him to be a liar. And thus the evil of his deed was made fairseeming to Firon, and he was turned away from the way; and the struggle of Firon was not (to end) in aught but destruction. (40:36-7)

Say: The Holy spirit has revealed it (the revelation) down from your Lord with the truth, that it may establish those who believe and as a guidance and good news for those who submit. (16:102)

And He is the Supreme, above His servants; and He is the Wise, the Aware. (6:18)

Also read the following hadith:

Mu'awiya b. al-Hakam said: While I was praying with the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him), a man in the company sneezed. I said: Allah have mercy on you! The people stared at me with disapproving looks, so I said: Woe be upon me, why is it that you stare at me? They began to strike their hands on their thighs, and when I saw them urging me to observe silence (I became angry) but I said nothing. When the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) had said the prayer (and I declare that neither before him nor after him have I seen a leader who gave better instruction than he for whom I would give my father and mother as ransom). I swear that he did not scold, beat or revile me but said: Talking to persons is not fitting during the prayer, for it consists of glorifying Allah, declaring His Greatness, and recitation of the Qur'an or words to that effect. I said: Messenger of Allah. I was till recently a pagan, but Allah has brought Islam to us; among us there are men who have recourse to Kahins. He said: Do not have recourse to them. I said: There are men who take omens. That is something which they find in their breasts, but let it not turn their way (from freedom of action). I said: Among us there are men who draw lines. He said: There was a prophet who drew lines, so if they do it as they did, that is allowable. I had a maid-servant who tended goats by the side of Uhud and Jawwaniya. One day I happened to pass that way and found that a wolf had carried a goat from her flock. I am after all a man from the posterity of Adam. I felt sorry as they (human beings) feel sorry. So I slapped her. I came to the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) and felt (this act of mine) as something grievous I said: Messenger of Allah, should I not grant her freedom? He (the Holy Prophet) said: Bring her to me. So I brought her to him. He said to her: Where is Allah? She said: He is in the heaven. He said: Who am I? She said: Thou art the Messenger of Allah. He said: Grant her freedom, she is a believing woman. (Book 004, Number 1094)

Response:
You have raised a concern regarding my understanding of the physical presence of God. My understanding was based on the following verse:

"There is no secret counsel of three, but He is their fourth, nor of five but He is their sixth, nor of less than that, nor of more, but He is with them wheresoever they may be." (58: 7)

Also, the Qur'an says:

"When my servants ask you about me tell them: ' I am near. I answer the prayer of the supplicant when he prays to Me.'" (2: 186)

Obviously, in both cases, the Qur'an is talking about the nearness of the Almighty with regard to His knowledge. As for His physical presence, We have no idea about it - whatsoever. Musa, alaihissalaam, showed interest in it and he was shown that it was not humanly possible to get a glimpse of the Almighty in this world. The message of the Almighty in this regard is very clear: We, humans, should not be interested in finding out anything about His physical presence. It is one of the Mutashabihaat of the Qur'an, about which we have been told that those who have genuine knowledge don't go into the struggle of finding out their reality. It is only those whose hearts are diseased that take interest in matters that are Mutashabihat.

What you have mentioned in the message is basically Ibne Taymiah's opinion. Despite his lofty stature, I believe the Imam has erred in quoting the verses of sur'ah al-Ma'arij to prove the physical existence and extent of God's presence. To me, all that verse is telling us is that the Almighty has His own time frame, He doesn't go by our standards of time. So, don't be in an unnecessary haste about the Hereafter.

I would also like to point out that the differences of opinion on religious matters should be addressed in an academic, unemotional manner. The prophet, alaihissalam, is reported to have said that if a person declares another a Kafir, then one of the two is certainly a Kafir. Our task should be to humbly understand the truth and to continue doing it. If we disagree with the views of others, we should express our disagreement on the basis of our arguments.

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