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AllahAllahAllahAllah----NeitherInsideofHisCreationnorOutsideofitNeitherInsideofHisCreationnorOutsideofitNeitherInsideofHisCreationnorOutsideofitNeitherInsideofHisCreationnorOutsideofit 1111ShaykhIbnal-Jawzal-anbal2TranslatedbyMuhammadWilliamCharles

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ThismandoesntknowwhatisnecessaryoftheCreator,andwhatisimpossibleofHim.Indeed,Hisexistenceisnotliketheexistenceofatoms(jawhir)andbodieswhichmusthave a location. Below and above only apply to what can be faced and gottenoppositeto.Now,whatisgottenoppositetohasofnecessitytobebigger,smaller,orequaltowhat isopposite itbut this iswhatapplies tobodies.Whatever facesbodies

maybecontacted,andwhatevercanbeincontactwithbodies,orbeseparatefromthemisoriginatedsinceitisknown[inscienceof Kalm]thattheproofthatatoms(jawhir)are originated is their capacity to be contacted or separate. Thus, whoever permits[contact and separation] forGodmakesHimoriginated. IftheymaintainthatHemaynotbeoriginatedinspiteofHisbeingsusceptibletocontactandseparation,wewillnotbeleftwithanymeanstodemonstratethatatomsareoriginated.Furthermore,ifweconceiveofathingtranscendingspaceandlocation[namely,God],andanotherrequiringspaceandlocation[namely,bodies],thenwemayneitherdeclarethetwotobecontiguousnorseparatesincecontiguityandseparatenessareamongtheconsequencesofoccupyingspace.

Ithasalreadybeenestablishedthatcomingtogetherandbecomingseparateareamongtheinseparableattributesofwhateveroccupiesspace.However,theReal(al-aqq),highandexaltedisHe,maynotbedescribedby theoccupationofspacebecause,ifHedidoccupyspace,HewouldeitherhavetobeatrestinthespaceHeoccupied,ormovingfromit;whereas,Hemayneitherbedescribedbymovementnorstillness;norunionnorseparation[sincethesearetheattributesofthingswhicharecontingentandoriginated,notofthatwhichisnecessaryandeternal].Whateveriscontiguousorseparatemusthave

1Ibnal-Jawz,DafShubahal-Tashbh(Cairo,MaktabahKullyatal-Azharyah,1991),pp,21-222Abl-FarajAbdal-Ramnb.Alb.al-Jawzal-Baghdd(d.597H.)

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afiniteexistence.Then,whatisfinitehastohavedimensions,andwhathasdimensionsneedsthatwhichparticularisesitsdimensions[andwhateverhasaneedcannotbetheGodandOriginatorofthecosmos].

Furthermore,fromanotherpointofview,itcanbepointedoutthatHeisneitherinthisworld nor outside it because entering and exiting are inseparable attributes of thingswhich occupy space. Entering and exiting are just likemovement and stillness and allotheraccidentswhichapplytobodiesonly.NoticethatIbnal-Zaghnclaimsabove[Ibnal-Jawzhadquotedfromoneofhisbooks]that He did not create things in His Essence (dht); therefore, he presumes it isestablishedthattheyareseparatefromHim.[Inrefutationofthisclaim]wedeclare[thatis,Ibnal-Jawz]thattheEssenceoftheTranscendentGod(dhtuhal-muqaddasah)isbeyond having things created in it, or that things should occur in it. Now, material

separationinrelationtoHimrequiresofHimwhatitrequiresofsubstances[namely,thatHebedefinedbyfinitelimits].Indeed,thedefinitionoflocationisthatwhatoccupiesitpreventsasimilarthingfrombeing foundthere;[whereas,nothingis similartoGodinanyway].Itisapparentthatwhat[theseanthropomorphists]presumeisbasedonsensoryanalogy.Their inability to conceive of a reality beyond material experience led them intobewilderment, and toliken theattributesoftheTranscendentGodtotheattributesoforiginatedthings[thatis,tocommittashbh].Indeed,thebewildermentofsomeofthemreached suchadegree that theydeclared:The reasonGodmentionedHis ascension(istiw) on the Throne is that it is the nearest thing to him. Obviously, this is

preposterousbecausenearnessintermsofdistancecanonlybeconceivedofinrelationto bodies [whereas, in relation to the Transcendent God who is not a body, it isinconceivable]. Others declared that the Throne is opposite what confronts it of theDivine Essence (dht), butnot opposite the entiredht.This,of course, is explicit insayingthatGodislikeabody(tajsm),andthatHeissusceptibletodivision.Iamatalosstounderstandhowaperson[whobelievessuchhereticalnonsense]hastheaudacitytoascribetoourschooloflaw[thatis,theanbalmadhhab]!