Q: WHY DO THE ASH'ARIYYA AND MAURIDIYYA BELIEVE AND SAY THAT ALLAH EXISTS WITHOUT A PLACE {اللَّهُ مَوْجُودٌ بِلاَ مَكَانٍ}?

A: We start with the Name of Allah. Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. To Allah belongs the endowments, befitting perfection, and commendations. We ask Allah to raise the rank of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, his Al (Family), and Sahabah (Companions), and to protect his nation from what he fears for it. Ameen. Thereafter:

Imam Bukhari (d. 256 AH), Rahimahullah, and others narrated that a group of people from Yemen came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and asked him to teach them about the beginning of the creation. They wanted to know how the world started, what was the first creation? So the Prophet ﷺ started by giving them something more beneficial than what they were seeking.

The Prophet ﷺ said which means: "... Allah existed eternally and there was nothing else." [Sahih Bukhari]

This means Allah subhana wa ta'ala existed and there were no creations. Allah existed and there was no place (makan), no time (zaman), no direction (jihah), no Arsh (Throne), no sky, no earth, no light, no darkness, no air, no Angels, no Jinn, no Jahannam, no Jannah, etc. Nothing existed and Allah existed eternally with no beginning. From this narration it is easy to recognize the belief that the Prophet ﷺ came with and the meaning of the statement:

"Allah exists without a place." {اللَّهُ مَوْجُودٌ بِلاَ مَكَانٍ} 

So know without a doubt that the six (6) directions, locations, places, time, space, movement, stillness, and change are created by Allah and are part of His creation. So when the words 'Istiwa, 'Ala (Aboveness), Muheet (Omnipresent), Nuzul (descent), etc. are used in reference to Allah, we do not know the true reality of those Attributes, nor is it obligatory for us to know their meanings as stated by ibn Qudamah (d. 620 AH), Rahimahullah:

"There is no need for us to know the meanings of what Allah intended from His Attributes, for indeed, He has not intended any action by them and neither has He attached any responsibility regarding them besides believing in them. It is possible to believe in them without knowledge of their meanings and therefore, indeed faith with ignorance [of the meanings] is correct. Verily, Allah has ordered us to have faith in His angels, His books, His messengers and what He had revealed unto them even if we do not know of them except their names." [Tahrīm al Naẓr fi Kutub al-Kalām, pg. 51]

Nevertheless, what is obligatory for us to know is that they do not mean to attribute a place, direction, location, change, movement, nor stillness to Allah. All of those meanings are specific, explicit, and exclusive to creation, and indicate that the subject that they are in reference to is a created thing. Therefore we affirm (ithbaat) and believe in the reality of those Attributes when the refer to Allah without attributing a place, direction, location, movement, stillness, or change to Allah. Subhana Allah!

Ahlus Sunnah wal Jam'ah, who are the Ash'ariyya and Maturidiyya, believe that the Self (Dhat) of Allah is neither inside His creation nor outside of it. They (Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama'ah) believe that Allah has a different and unique Existence that is beyond our imagination and comprehension.

Therefore, it is not permissible to believe that Allah indwells (hulool) or occupies any of His creatures, as the Christians believe about 'Isa (Jesus), 'alayhi as-salaam, or the Hindus about their Avatars. So let it be known that this also means that the Self of Allah (adh-Dhatullah) does not indwell (hulool) or occupy the Heavens, above the Heavens, nor in the six directions like the Wahhabis aka Pseudo-Salafis believe. Allah is not in Heaven. He is not above the Heaven. He is not in everyone. He is not everywhere as some people understand it. he does not occupy a space now; He never did, and He never will. Allah exists without time, space, place, changes, or how. Allah ta'ala's Existence is beyond our imagination and comprehension. The fact that we cannot imagine nor comprehend Allah is the perfect knowledge and belief to have about Allah ta'ala. Allahu Akbar! [Qur'an 16:17; 42:11; and 112:4]

Imam Abu Ja'far at-Tahawi (d. 322 AH) said which means:

"He [Allah] is beyond having limits placed on Him, or being restricted, or having parts or limbs. Nor is he contained by six directions as all created things are." ['Aqeedah at-Tahawi]

Now as for the ahadith regarding the slave girl, know that there are many narrations with many textual (matn) variations concerning those ahadith. Understand this, there are no contradictions in the Qur'an or Ahadith. So when you put them all together, is becomes clear that the Prophet ﷺ was not asking the slave girl about a place (makan), direction (jihah), nor location for Allah ta'ala, but about the oneness and high status of Allah. This was mentioned by many highly trustworthy scholars such as but not limited to: Imam an-Nawawi (d. 676 AH), Rahimahullah, Imam Qadi 'Iyad (d. 544 AH), Rahimahullah, and many others.

Therefore, rightly guided Muslims are not idol worshippers nor do we worship an imaginary body (jism) that lives up in the clouds, or something beyond the clouds. Rather, we worship the One Who created the clouds, the sky, the six directions, and bodies with their characteristics like color, shape, size, odor, movement, stillness, and changes. We worship Allah, the One Who created the bodies bound by the six directions and contained in a place. We as Muslims don't worship something that has a place, shape, nor changes from one state to another. We worship adh-Dhatullah (the Self of Allah) al-Musawwir, the One Who creates the shapes.

Now you know why the Ash'ariyya and Maturidiyya believe and say that Allah exists without a place {اللَّهُ مَوْجُودٌ بِلاَ مَكَانٍ}. And knowing is half the battle.

May Allah ta'ala guide us to the proper understanding of these matters. Ameen Allahumma Ameen.