Since the human mind is limited in it's knowledge and scope; Allah has mercifully taken it upon Himself to reveal to man some of His attributes. Among Allah's countless attributes is one which is of paramount importance with regard to the worship of God and this is Highness or transcendence.

The attribute refers to the fact that Allah is above and beyond His creation. He is neither enclosed by the creation nor is any part of the creation above Him in anyway. He is not part of the created world nor is it a part of Him. In fact, His Being is totally distinct and separate from His creation. He is the Creator and the universe and its contents are all a part of His creation. However, His attributes function without restriction in His creation. He sees, hears and knows all, and He is the prime cause of all that happens within the worlds of creation. ALLAH IS ALLAH, AND THE CREATION IS CREATION. Two separate entities, the Creator and the created, the Infinite and the finite. Neither is one nor are they both one. This uncompromising Unitarian concept that Allah is absolutely one, without parents, offspring or partner. He is unique in His divinity and nothing is similar to Him. He is the sole source of power in the universe and everything depends on Him. This false attribute of divine immanence (the 'God is everywhere' belief) leads to dangers of shirk as then man turns to worship of creation rather than of the Creator. Just like the painter is not the painting, and it is the painter rather than painting who should be praised on the work. There are a number of proofs based on the essential elements of the Islamic creed which have been used by orthodox Muslims to establish that Allah is totally separate from, and above His creation. The following are 7 such proofs:

1. A NATURAL PROOF:

Islamically, man is born with certain natural tendencies - known as his Fitrah. If Allah exists everywhere and is present in everything, it would imply that His essence could be found in filth and filthy places. When confronted with this implication, most people are naturally repulsed. You find yourself instinctually unable to accept that the Creator of the universe is present in mans excrements or places not befitting His Majesty. Therefore, it may be concluded that since man's natural instincts, placed in him by Allah, reject the claim that Allah is everywhere, it is highly unlikely that such a claim be correct.

2. THE PRAYER PROOF:

According to the rules and regulations governing prayer in Islaam, places of worship must be completely free from statues or pictorial representation of God or His creation and the various positions of worship used in formal prayer (bowing, prostrating, etc) are prohibited from being directed to anyone or anything besides God. If God were present everywhere; in every thing and in every individual, it would be perfectly acceptable for people to direct worship towards each other or even towards themselves!

3. THE MI'RAAJ PROOF:

The Prophet (saw) made a miraculous night journey (Israa) from Makkah to Jerusalem where he took the Mir'aaj up through the seven skies to the pinnacle of creation. This miraculous journey was bestowed on him in order that he is in the direct presence of Allah. Allah spoke directly to the Prophet (saw) there. If Allah were everywhere there would have been no need for the Prophet (saw) to go anywhere. This gives the slight implication that Allah is above all creation and not a part of it.

4. QUR'ANIC PROOF:

The number of verses in the Qur'aan which states that Allah is above His creation are too numerous to count. They are found in almost every chapter of the Qur'aan, either directly or indirectly. Among the indirect references are those which refer to things rising up to God or descending from Him, eg in Surah al-Ikhlaas, Allah calls Himself "As Samad" which means: that to which things rise. Or Allah says: "The angels and the Spirit (Gabriel) ascend up to Him in a day whose length is like fifty thousand years."(S70:4)

Or "Every good saying goes up to Him" (S35:10)

Or "Say, the Holy Spirit has brought it (the revelation) down from your Lord in truth, in order to strengthen those who believe…" (S16:102)

Allah has also told us that He sits above the Heavens many times in the Qur'aan:

"Surely, your Lord is Allah Who created the heavens and the earth in 6 days and then ose over (istawa) the Throne (really in a manner that suits His Majesty), disposing the affair of all ings." (S10:3)

See also: (7:54; 2:29; 13:2; …….)

Therefore , Th Qur'aan itself clearly points out for those who contemplate its meanings, that Allah is high above His creation and not within it or surrounded by it in any way.

5. HADEETH PROOF:

There is ample evidence in the statements of the Prophet (saw) which clearly establish that Allah is not on the earth or within His creation. Indirect examples include angels ascending or descending from Allah to the earth: Abu Hurayrah narrates Prophet (saw) as saying "A group of angels stay with you at night and another group by daytime, and both groups gather at the time of Asr and Fajr prayers. Then those angels who have stayed with you overnight, ascend to Heaven and Allah asks them about you - though He knows all about you…." A direct example can be found in the Du'a made by the Prophet (saw) when he was sick, (our Lord Allah is above the heavens, may your name be Holy….")

The most explicit of hadeeths is regarding the slave girl of Mu'aawiyah ibn al-hakam, to whom the Prophet (saw) asked: "where is Allah?" and she replied, "ABOVE THE HEAVENS". Then he asked, "Who am I?" and she replied, "You are Allah's messenger." So he (saw) said, "free her, verily she is a true believer." (Collected by Muslim)

6. THE LOGICAL PROOF:

When Allah created the world, either He created it inside Himself or He created it outside Himself. The first possibility is unacceptable because it mean that Allah, the Infinite Supreme Being, has within Himself finite attributes of deficiency and weakness. Therefore, He must have created the world outside of Himself as an entity distinct from Himself yet depending on Him. As to the contradictory description that God is neither connected to the world nor separate from it, or that He is neither in the world nor outside of it, such words are not only illogical but they, in fact deny God's actual existence.

7. THE CONSENSUS OF EARLY SCHOLARS

A good example is that of the statement made by Abu Haneefah regarding the person who does not know whether his Lord is in the heavens or on earth. He said " He has disbelievd, because Allah has said, "The Most Merciful is above the throne" (20:5), and His throne is above the seven heavens." When asked, "what if he said that He is above the throne but he does not know whether the throne is in the heavens or on the earth?" He (Abu Haneefah) replied, "He has disbelieved because he has> denied that He (Allah) is above the heavens and whoever denies that He is above he heavens has disbelieved."

The views given do not deny that Allah's attributes operate throughout His creation. Nothing escapes His sight, His knowledge and His power. But just as we are to watch the world in the comfort of our homes through the Tv set, Allah sees, hears and knows all that happens in the universe. IF one fails to understand how or why Allah sits above His creation then he has denied these very clear evidences revealed to man himself. Furthermore, if we simply conclude that because we don't understand this concept, therefore Allah must be everywhere, then we have committed a major sin in denying the attributes of Allaah. This falls into the category of shirk -the one sin that Allah will not forgive!