Theological Debate Between the Mu'tazilites and the Ash'arites on the Relation of God to Time and Space

The Mu’tazilites said that God is above time and space. First part of this statement seems to have direct support from the Holy Quran. It says that “He is the First and the Last”, which means that He should not be construed in time-relating understanding. The second part, i.e. that God is above space, does not have the same degree of support from the Holy Quran.
Holding this in mind, the Mu’tazilites have to interpret some verses of the Holy Quran that is seemingly contradictory to what they hold. For example, they interpret istawa ‘ala al-Arsh (literally meaning ‘established on the Throne’), the famous phrase taken from surah Tha Ha, to mean istawla ‘ala al-Arsh which means to get mastery over the Throne which is understood as His Kingdom. If they do not do so, that is to explain the verse metaphorically, it will reduce the Deity to material being and, consequently, created being.
Since the Mu’tazilites insist to interpret istawa as istawla, it makes them involved in the problem of the whereabouts of God, which the Mu’tazilites themselves have different perspectives about this. Abu al-Hudhail al-Allaf and the majority of the Mu’tazilites hold that God is everywhere, that is, He is the Ruler of every place or His Rule governs eveery place. Another Mu’tazilites, such as Hisham al-Fuati and Abu Zufar, maintain that He is everywhere He is. In this two cases, the Mu’tazilites exhort to avoid physical, anthropological interpretation. The emphasize of the absoluteness of God is the central concern of Mu’tazilites.


This opinion that God is above space and metaphorical intrepretation of seemingly anthropomorphic verses contained in the Holy Quran are countered by al-Ash’ari. In the book which is said to have been written by him, al-Ibanah ‘an Ushul al-Diyanah*, istawa ‘ala al-arsh is interpreted as He has seated Himself on the Throne which is located above the seventh, i.e., in the highest place. To support this, he has utilized various proofs from the Holy Quran, the Prophet’s Tradition, the Ijma’ (Muslims consensus), philological proof, logical proof, and philosophical proof.
From surah Ghafir verses 36 and 37 “And Pharaoh said : O Haman! Build for me a tower that haply I may reach the roadx, the roads of the heavens, and may look upon the God of Moses though verily I think Him a liar”. Here, Pharaoh refutes that God is verily above the the heavens. From surah al-Mulk verse 16 “Have ye taken security from Him Who is in the heaven that He will not cause the earth to swallow you”. The heaven in this verse is interpreted to be the Throne of God which is above the seventh heaven.
Several Traditions is used to prove that God is on the throne which is above the heaven. Here are some of them: reported by Muslim that the Prophet has said: “God, may He be Exalted and High, descends every night to the lowest heaven, and then says: ‘Is there any body to seek favour from Me that I may give it and is there any body to beg pardon of me that I may pardon him’ and so on until the day dawns”; Abdullah son of al-Abbas is reported to have said: “Reflect on the creation of God and not on Him. For, there is between His Throne and the heaven a distance of one thousand years journey and God, may He be Exalted and High, is above that”; when a man came to the Prophet with a negress and said: “O Apostle of God! Verily I desire to liberate her by way of an atonement. Is it permissible for me to do so?” The Prophet of God said to her: “Where is God?”, she answered: “In the heaven”, the Prophet asked her again: “Who am I?”, she replied: “Thou art the apostle of God”. Then the Prophet of God said: “Set her free, for she is a believer”.
The consensus among Muslims that Jesus has been raised to the heaven and that it is allowed for them to raise their hands towards heaven while praying shows that God, the Exalted and the High, has seated Himself on the Throne which is above the seventh heaven. It is also a consensus among them to pray to God by saying “O! Dweller on the Throne”. And when they swear, they say: “By Him who screens Himself with the seven heavens”. From philological perspective, it is not acceptable to interpret istawa as to get mastery over the Throne. For, it will mean that He, the Exalted and the High, has also got mastery over the latrines insofar as He has got mastery over every thing, which no Muslim will consider it to be a valid statement. Istawa should not mean to get mastery, which can be used for anything, but must mean sitting, which is applied particularly to the Divine Throne.
Logically, if God is in every place, as held by the Mu’tazilites, then He, the Exalted and the High, will be in the womb of the Virgin Mary and the latrines, since both are places. But this, as it is clear, is no single Muslim would accept. Astronomically, by maintaining God’s transendence without seeing His imanence, the Mu’tazilites has reduced Him to mere an abstraction.
In response to these refutations, the Mu’tazilites said that God’s descending as quoted in some Prophet’s Tradition is not in conflict with what the Mu’tazilites hold. For, it is descending of the angels sent by God and not of God Himself. And so is the case with the fact that Jesus has been raised to the heaven, since for the Mu’tazilites the heaven is as much near to God as the earth or any other place. Concerning another Ijma’ of Muslims’ prayer, it is resulted from common notion to speak one greater in rank as one higher in place. Therefore, for Muslims, He has been metaphorically conceived as being in the highest place.
The followers of al-Ash’ari are not in agreement with so-called al-Ash’ari’s opinion explained above. One of the eminent Ash’arites, Imam al-Haramain, informed us as to al-Ash’ari’s thought concerning the meaning of istawa, saying that al-Ash’ari has said: “God was while there was no space. He then created the Throne and the Chair. And He was not in need of space. After the creation of space He remained exactly as He was before. And al-Istiwa’ is an attribute of God like His other attributes, and is also an action of His which He has done in relation to His Throne.”
Imam Haramain interpreted istawa as qahara wa ghalaba ‘ala meaning to get the upper hand or mastery over, not as istaqarra ‘ala meaning settling on. This second interpretation will reduce the Deity to the physical thing. To prove his statement, he has utilized several proofs. From the Holy Quran surah al-Hadid verse 4 “And He is with you wheresoever ye may be” and surah Ali Imran verse 33 “Is He Who is aware of the deserts of every soul?”, Imam Haramain inferred that God’s presence stated in the above verses can only understood as His knowledge and comprehension, for it is absurd to understand it as physical presence. Therefore, it is valid to interpret istawa as to get mastery over (al-qahru wa al-ghalabah). In Arabic literary, we can find word istawa which means to get mastery over the kingdom (ihtiwa’ ‘ala maqalid al-mulk and isti’la’ ‘ala al-riqab). All Muslims are united in belief that God is above direction, and the common conception that the Throne is the biggest thing in the realm of God is to emphasize God’s mastery over all things, big or small ones, by stating His control over the Biggest one. With regard to Prophet’s Traditions reporting God’s descending, it is His angels descending. For other Traditions which is ahad, i.e., not reported by many people, Imam Haramain considers those not sufficient in explaining the creed problems.
Another Ash’arites, Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, insists that the anthropormist’s belief that God is sitting in His Throne is wrong according to reason and authority. Philosophically, God, the Exalted and the High, existed when there was no the Throne nor space, and He is independent of His creatures as He was. And also the sitter on the Throne necessitates two sides, suggesting that he is compound substance, and this is absolutely absurd with reference to the Deity.
The sitter on the Throne can move of cannot. If the first is the case, then He is like His creatures who have movements. If the latter, He becomes like a person with disability. Far be both from Him! God according to anthropomorphist either exists in every place of some particular places. If the former, then He will be also in the places of dirt, which is unacceptable. If the second alternative, there should be a reason in choosing one place to another. The settlers in a particular place cannot be god, for they must be subject to motion.
Al-Fakhr al-Razi also gives Quranic proofs to demonstrate the mistake of the anthropomorphist. Quoting the famous verse of God’s transendency “Naught is as His likeness”, he says that if sitting is excepted from this verse, it will mean that this verse is not absolute but relative and also sitting, which needs a body to sit, must be similar to that of His creature. Another verse which seems to justify anthropomorphic interpretation is “And eight will uphold the throne of their Lord that day above them”. If taken literally, this would that God needs His creatures, which the contrary is the truth, i.e., the creatures is in absolute need of Him. Prophet Abraham’s expression, as cited in the Holy Quran “He said: I love not things that set”, shows that He is not body. For, if He is so, what Abraham said will also be applcable to Him, since He is always invisible to our bare eyes.
Astronomically, considering globular nature of our earth, the above for us will be the beneath for those living in the antipode. And if He has direction, He will be above for some and beneath for others, which is not an acceptable statement. All Muslim is in one agreement that the verse “Say: He is Allah, the One” is the muhkamat (sound) verse, not the mutashabihat (ambivalent). Keeping this in mind, it is impossible to say that He has His own space, implying His bodiness. So based on the sound meaning of this verse, istiqrar (to rest at a place) for God is unreasonable.
So far as the ambivalent and ambiguous verses and Prophetic Traditions are concerned, there are two different opinions. The first hold that we should not try to interpret these verses. Instead, we have to be fully convinced that God is above time and space. As reported by al-Ghazali, al-Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal, who has collected thousands of Traditions of the Prophet, has only interpreted three Traditions concerning this problem and nothing more. This passive position, to say so, toward the mutashabihat was criticized by al-Fakhr al-Razi, regarding this as weak for several arguments; if we hold that God is above space and time, we will have believe that by istiwa’ God does not mean sitting, and this is what the ta’wil is all about; if we are not convinced that God is above time and space, we betray our ignorance of Him except that we say that God seem to mean something other than signification of the Holy Quran. But we do not venture to express it in many words to avoid the risk of that we fall into error. This view is imperfect, since if we affirms that God has revealed His word in Arabic language, we must know that most part of revelation is understandable to the Arabs. Because the word istiwa’ contains two meanings, istiqrar (to settle) and isti’la’ (to get master), and the former is absurd attributive to God, the latter is the only alternative meaning last to interpret the word istiwa’. The second tendency is to explain away the mutashabihat by the mean of ta’wil, which is, according to al-Fakhr al-Razi, inevitable.
Based on two opposite positions, al-Fakhr al-Razi made four different point to consider. First, we shall act up to both views severally and individually. Second, the exact opposite of the first. Third, we should choose authority prior to reason. And fourth, we choose the contrary. The first is preposterous and so is the second. The third cannot defended since affirmation of the authority needs reason. The only remaining choice is the judgment of reason in explaining the authority, for this reason then istiwa’ here means to get mastery.
The point which to explore by al-Fakhr al-Razi is that God is above space. The view that God is above place and time is also the view of another Sunni school, i. e. the Maturidites, as conserved by al-Nasafi in his book.

endnote:
*It should be noted that what is contained within recent publication of this book should not always be attributed to al-Ash’ari, for it is reported that this book is fabricated under his name. For more proofs concerning this problem, see http://salafytobat.wordpress.com/2008/06/19/bukti-wahabi-selewengkan-fakta-kitab-al-ibanah-2/

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