Allah's Highness Over His Creation

I inform you that the general meaning of these noble verses and of the noble prophetic hadith is: the demonstration of the greatness of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, His highness above His creation, and His divinity over all creatures without exception; the encompassing of His knowledge and its comprehension of everything, whether great or small, secret or open; the clarification of His power over everything; and the negation of any incapacity from Him, Glorified and Exalted is He.

As for their particular meaning, His saying, Exalted is He:

وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ “His Kursî extends over the heavens and the earth.” — Sūrah al-Baqarah (2:255)

In it is an indication of the greatness of the Kursī and its vastness, as it also indicates the greatness of its Creator, Glorified is He, and the perfection of His power. And His saying:

وَلَا يَئُودُهُ حِفْظُهُمَا وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْعَظِيمُ “And He feels no fatigue in guarding and preserving them. And He is the Most High, the Most Great.” — Sūrah al-Baqarah (2:255)

It means that the preservation of the heavens and the earth, and whoever is in them and whoever is between them, does not weigh upon Him nor burden Him. Rather, that is easy for Him, simple with Him. He is the Maintainer over every soul for what it has earned, the Watcher over all things; nothing is hidden from Him and nothing is absent from Him. All things are lowly in His hands, humble, abased, and small in relation to Him, Glorified is He, needy and poor toward Him. He is the Rich, the Praiseworthy, the Doer of what He wills, who is not questioned about what He does while they are questioned. He is the Subduer of everything, the Reckoner over everything, the Watcher, the Most High, the Most Great. There is no ilâh (god to be worshipped) other than Him and no lord besides Him.

And His saying, Glorified is He:

وَهُوَ اللَّهُ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَفِي الْأَرْضِ يَعْلَمُ سِرَّكُمْ وَجَهْرَكُمْ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا تَكْسِبُونَ “And He is Allâh (to be worshipped Alone) in the heavens and on the earth, He knows what you conceal and what you reveal, and He knows what you earn (good or bad).” — Sūrah al-Anʿām (6:3)

In it is an indication that the One called upon is Allah, in the heavens and in the earth. Whoever is in the heavens and whoever is in the earth worships Him, declares Him one (in his ʿIbādah), and acknowledges divinity for Him. They name Him Allah and call upon Him in hope and dread, except those who disbelieve among the jinn and mankind. In it too is an indication of the vastness of Allah’s knowledge, Glorified is He, His observation of His servants, and His encompassing of what they do, whether secret or open, for the secret and the open are the same to Him, Glorified and Exalted is He. He reckons against the servants all their deeds, the good of them and the evil.

And His saying, Glorified is He:

وَهُوَ الَّذِي فِي السَّمَاءِ إِلَٰهٌ وَفِي الْأَرْضِ إِلَٰهٌ وَهُوَ الْحَكِيمُ الْعَلِيمُ “It is He (Allâh) Who is the only Ilâh (God to be worshipped) in the heaven and the only Ilâh (God to be worshipped) on the earth. And He is the All-Wise, the All-Knower.” — Sūrah al-Zukhruf (43:84)

Its meaning is that He, Glorified is He, is the Ilâh of whoever is in the heaven and the Ilâh of whoever is in the earth. The inhabitants of both worship Him, all of them submitting to Him, abased in His hands, except one over whom wretchedness has prevailed so that he disbelieves in Allah and does not believe in Him. He is the Wise in His legislation and His decree, the Knowing of all the deeds of His servants, Glorified is He.

And His saying, Glorified and Exalted is He:

أَلَمْ تَرَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ مَا يَكُونُ مِنْ نَجْوَىٰ ثَلَاثَةٍ إِلَّا هُوَ رَابِعُهُمْ وَلَا خَمْسَةٍ إِلَّا هُوَ سَادِسُهُمْ وَلَا أَدْنَىٰ مِنْ ذَٰلِكَ وَلَا أَكْثَرَ إِلَّا هُوَ مَعَهُمْ أَيْنَ مَا كَانُوا ثُمَّ يُنَبِّئُهُمْ بِمَا عَمِلُوا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ “Have you not seen that Allâh knows whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is on the earth? There is no Najwâ (secret counsel) of three but He is their fourth (with His Knowledge, while He Himself is over the Throne, over the seventh heaven), nor of five but He is their sixth (with His Knowledge), nor of less than that or more but He is with them (with His Knowledge) wheresoever they may be; and afterwards on the Day of Resurrection, He will inform them of what they did. Verily, Allâh is the All-Knower of everything.” — Sūrah al-Mujādilah (58:7)

Its meaning is that He, Glorified is He, is aware of all His servants wherever they are; He hears their speech, their secret, and their private talk, and He knows their deeds. His messengers among the noble angels, the recording guardians, also, along with that, write down what they confer about privately, together with Allah’s knowledge of it and His hearing of all of it. What is intended by the “withness” (maʿiyyah) mentioned in this verse, according to Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jamāʿah, is the withness of His knowledge, Glorified and Exalted is He. He is with them by His knowledge, encompassing them, His sight penetrating them. He, Glorified and Exalted is He, is aware of His creation; nothing of their affairs is absent from Him, even though He, Glorified is He, is above all creation, having risen over His Throne with a rising that befits His majesty and greatness, not resembling His creation in any of His attributes. As He, Mighty and Majestic is He, said:

لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْبَصِيرُ “There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer.” — Sūrah al-Shūrā (42:11)

Then He will inform them on the Day of Resurrection of all the deeds they did in the world, because He, Glorified is He, is Knowing of all things, encompassing all things, the Knower of the unseen. Not an atom’s weight in the heavens or in the earth escapes His knowledge, nor anything smaller than that nor larger, except that it is in a clear book.

As for the hadith of the slave girl, whose master wished to free her as an expiation for having struck her, the Prophet ﷺ said to her:

قَالَ لَهَا: أَيْنَ اللَّهُ؟ قَالَتْ: فِي السَّمَاءِ. قَالَ: مَنْ أَنَا؟ قَالَتْ: أَنْتَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ. قَالَ: أَعْتِقْهَا فَإِنَّهَا مُؤْمِنَةٌ “Where is Allah?” She said, “Above the heaven.” He said, “Who am I?” She said, “You are the Messenger of Allah.” He said, “Free her, for she is a believer.” — reported by Muslim in his Ṣaḥīḥ

In it is an indication of Allah’s highness above His creation, and that acknowledging that, along with acknowledging his messengership ﷺ, is a proof of faith.

This is the brief meaning of what you asked about. It is obligatory upon the Muslim, in these verses and the authentic hadiths carrying their meaning that indicate the names and attributes of Allah, to take the path of Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jamāʿah, which is to believe in them, to hold as true what they indicate, and to affirm it for Him, Glorified is He, in the manner that befits Him, without distortion (taḥrīf), nor denial (taʿṭīl), nor asking how (takyīf), nor likening (tamthīl). This is the correct path that the righteous predecessors (as-Salaf aṣ-Ṣāliḥ) took and agreed upon. Likewise, the Muslim who wants safety for himself must keep himself from falling into what angers Allah, and turn aside from the way of the people of misguidance who reinterpret (taʾwīl) Allah’s attributes or negate them from Him, Glorified and Exalted is He, high above what the wrongdoers and the ignorant say, a great exaltation.

We are enclosing for you a copy of al-ʿAqīdah al-Wāsiṭiyyah by Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah, along with its explanation by Shaykh Muḥammad Khalīl al-Harrās, because it contains an extended discussion of the subject you asked about. We ask Allah to grant everyone beneficial knowledge and action upon it, and to grant everyone success in what pleases Him. He is Hearing, Responsive.

And peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.

Source: Majmūʿ Fatāwā wa Maqālāt of Shaykh Ibn Bāz (1/135).