Praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds. May His peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.

Speaking about the essence and attributes of Allah Almighty is a matter of great importance. A Muslim should not delve into it without knowledge. Rather, the general obligation on an accountable person is to believe that Allah Almighty is necessarily existent, deserving of all attributes of perfection and majesty, and is transcendent above resembling created beings. This is based on the saying of Allah the Exalted [which means]: "There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing." [Al-Shura/11].

As for the details, the description of Allah Almighty as "separate from His creation" appears in the books of the scholars of Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah (the People of the Sunnah and the Community). This phrase has two possible meanings: one is acceptable, and the other is false. The acceptable meaning is that Allah Almighty does not resemble anything from His creation, nor is He similar to it. He is not described as being "above the world" or that there is a distance between Him and the world. This is the intended meaning in the books of Ahl al-Sunnah. The false meaning, which is intended by the Corporealists (Mujassimah), is that Allah is outside the world in a specific direction (jiha), or distanced from it by a certain measure.

Both of these meanings, and the invalidation of separation by distance and direction, are referred to in the book [Al-Asma wa al-Sifat by Al-Hafiz Al-Bayhaqi*], may Allah have mercy on him (vol. 2, p. 309): "...And that Allah is established (mustawin) on His throne, and that He is above things, separate from them, in the sense that they do not exist within Him and He does not exist within them, nor does He touch them or resemble them. The separation (baynunah) is not one of isolation. Our Lord is far exalted above indwelling and touching."

Imam Al-Tahawi also stated in his universally accepted creedal text: "And Allah is far exalted above boundaries, limits, corners, limbs, and instruments. He is not contained by the six directions, unlike all created things."

Some people may mistakenly think that the saying of Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah, from both the predecessors (Salaf) and successors (Khalaf), that Allah Almighty is "separate from His creation"—and not inside the world, outside it, or above it by a distance—is a statement that contradicts reason and logic. This misconception is incorrect because this thinking is based on the assumption that Allah is a body, as the Corporealists claim. In that case, it would be correct to say that He is either inside the world or outside it. However, Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah deny corporality (jism) for Allah Almighty. They believe that Allah is an existent being, transcendent above resembling creatures and bodies, and free from the implications of direction and spatial location. If Allah Almighty is not a body to begin with, it is not correct to describe Him as being inside or outside the world, because these are characteristics exclusive to bodies. A body is the only thing that can be described in this way. This is similar to how a wall is not described as being blind or sighted, because it is not a living being to be described with either of these two attributes; rather, both are necessarily negated from it. In the same way, Allah Almighty is not described with any of the attributes of bodies because He is not a body. Imam Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, may Allah have mercy on him, said: "Know that we claim the existence of an existent being that cannot be pointed to sensually as being 'here' or 'there.' Or, we can say that we claim the existence of an existent being that is not specific to any places or directions. Or, we can say that we claim the existence of an existent being that does not indwell in the world, nor is He separate from it in any of the six directions of the world. These expressions differ, but the purpose of all of them is one and the same." [Asas al-Taqdis, p. 15].

The sound Islamic creed obligates a Muslim to believe that Allah Almighty is transcendent above place, direction, and spatial location. It is impossible for Allah Almighty to be a part of the world, indwelling within it, or a body outside the world, separate from creation by distance, direction, or a tangible location. All of this is because the doctrine of corporality is false and necessitates the nullification of Allah's divinity.

In the book [Al-Asma wa al-Sifat by Al-Hafiz Al-Bayhaqi*] (vol. 1, p. 236), it is stated: "Because if the name of God (al-Ilah) is established, then every attribute that returns to Him with nullification must be negated by His establishment. Resemblance is from this category, because if He had a likeness from His creation, then what is permissible for His likeness would be permissible for Him in that aspect. If that were permissible for Him, He would not deserve the name of God, just as His creation that resembles Him does not deserve it. It is therefore clear from this that the name of God and resemblance cannot be combined, just as the name of God and the negation of His origination cannot be combined. And with Allah is success."

In conclusion, the appearance of the phrase "separate from His creation" in the books of Ahl al-Sunnah should be understood to mean that Allah Almighty is an existent being transcendent above all that is not befitting of Him, such as corporality and the implications of direction and spatial location, and resembling or being similar to creation. It is not permissible to understand it as Allah being outside the world in a direction or by a distance, as this contradicts the saying and consensus of Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah. And Allah the Almighty knows best.