He said in the book ar-Raddu ala'l Jahmiyyah which al-Khallâl narrated and said, "I wrote this book from the handwriting of Abdullâh the son of Imâm Ahmad, and Abdullâh wrote it from the handwriting of his father," he said therein, "Chapter on the Clarification of what the Jahmiyyah Rejected of Allâh Being Upon the Arsh
Whereas Allâh Subhânahu said,﴿الرَّحْمَنُ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَى﴾
"Ar-Rahmân did Istiwâ above the Throne." (Tâ-Hâ, 20/5)
We said to them, "Why did you reject Allâh Subhânahu being upon the Arsh?"
Then, the Jahmîs said, "Allâh is below the seventh earth just as He is below the Arsh, He is in the heavens, in the earth[, and in every place."
And they recited,﴿وَهُوَ اللَّهُ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَفِي الْأَرْضِ﴾
"And He is Allâh in the heavens and on the earth." (al-An'âm, 6/3)]
Ahmad said: Then we said [to them], "The Muslims know of many places wherein there is nothing of the greatness of the Rabb. Your bodies, your insides, the insides of the pigs, toilets, and places of filth are places wherein there is nothing of the greatness of the Rabb. Allâh Azza wa Jalla has informed us that He is in the sky. Thus, Allâh Subhânahu said in the two verses,﴿أَأَمِنْتُمْ مَنْ فِي السَّمَاءِ أَنْ يَخْسِفَ بِكُمُ الْأَرْضَ﴾
"Do you feel secure that He, Who is in the heaven (Allâh), would not cause the earth to swallow you{, and suddenly it would sway? Or do you feel secure that He, Who is in the heaven (Allâh), would not send against you a storm of stones? So, you will soon come to know how was My warning!}" (al-Mulk, 67/16-17)
Allâh also said,﴿إِلَيْهِ يَصْعَدُ الْكَلِمُ الطَّيِّبُ﴾
"Towards Him ascends the pure word." (Fâtir, 35/10)
[Allâh said to Îsâ Alayh'is Salâm,]﴿إِنِّي مُتَوَفِّيكَ وَرَافِعُكَ إِلَيَّ﴾
"I will take you and raise you to Myself." (Âl-i Imrân, 3/55)
[Allâh also said,]﴿بَلْ رَفَعَهُ اللهُ إِلَيْهِ﴾
"Rather, Allâh raised him to Himself." (an-Nisâ, 4/158)173
Ahmad also said in the afore-mentioned book,
"Of the things rejected by the extremely misguided Jahmiyyah is Allâh being above the Arsh. Whereas Allâhu Taâlâ said,﴿الرَّحْمَنُ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَى﴾
"Ar-Rahmân did Istiwâ above the Throne." (Tâ-Hâ, 20/5)
Allâhu Taâlâ also said,﴿ثُمَّ اسْتَوَى عَلَى الْعَرْشِ﴾
"Then He did Istiwâ (established) over the Arsh." (al-Furqân, 25/59; as-Sajdah, 32/4)174
Then Imâm Ahmad cited evidences from the Qur'ân then said,
"The meaning of Allâh Jalla Thanâ'uhu's statement,﴿وَهُوَ اللَّهُ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَفِي الْأَرْضِ﴾
"And He is Allâh in the heavens and on the earth." (al-An'âm, 6/3)
Allâh says that He is the Ilâh of those in the heavens and the Ilâh of those on earth. He is above the Arsh and His knowledge has encompassed everything below the Arsh. Not a single place is hidden from His knowledge. Allâh's knowledge being in one place while being absent in another is non-existent. This is because of the statement by Allâhu Taâlâ,﴿لِتَعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ قَدْ أَحَاطَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عِلْمًا﴾
"So that you may know that Allâh has power over all things, and that Allâh has encompassed everything in knowledge." (at-Talâq, 65/12)
Imâm Ahmad said: This is something to be contemplated over with this regard: If a man had a cup made of crystal in his hand which has something inside it, then the sight of the son of Âdam would encompass the cup without the son of Âdam being in the cup. Allâh Subhânahu -and the highest description belongs to Him- has encompassed all of His creation by way of knowledge without being in anything He created."175
173- With similar wording in Ahmad bin Hanbal, ar-Raddu ala'z Zanâdiqah wa'l Jahmiyyah, Dar Gheras, p. 287-290.
174- With similar wording in Ahmad bin Hanbal, ar-Raddu ala'z Zanâdiqah wa'l Jahmiyyah, Dar Gheras, p. 287.
175- With similar wording in Ahmad bin Hanbal, ar-Raddu ala'z Zanâdiqah wa'l Jahmiyyah, Dar Gheras, p. 292-294.
