All perfect 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.

Islam is Allah`s religion. He has approved it to all mankind and with it He has sealed divine laws, perfected good character, and observed man`s nature and honor. Posing questions is a right for every person and every question, regardless of its subject, has an answer in Islam, because Islam adopts an integrated approach that rests on dialogue, wisdom and arguing in the best of manners. Allah the Exalted says {what means}, "Call unto the way of thy Lord with wisdom and fair exhortation, and reason with them in the better way. Lo! thy Lord is Best Aware of him who strayeth from His way, and He is Best Aware of those who go aright."{An-Nahil /125}. When a child asks: "Where is Allah?" He/she should be told that Allah is greater than everything, every place, and that He the Almighty doesn`t exist with a place. Rather, " there is nothing whatever like unto Him, and He is the One that hears and sees (all things) ."{Al-Shura, 11}. It is incumbent upon both parents and teachers to instill in the hearts of children that Allah doesn`t resemble His creation and that He is cleared from every attribute that doesn`t befit Him. Of course, this should be done using statements that suit the children`s intellectual and educational levels.

As for the Islamic ruling on "Where is Allah," in principle, it isn`t permissible, because literally the word "Where" is used to ask about place while Allah the Exalted doesn`t exist with a place. However, if this word "Where" was intended in a figurative sense. i.e. to ask about Allah`s status, then it is permissible. This meaning was included in the words of Caliph Uthman Bin Affan about Sa`sa`ah Bin Sawhan who spoke a lot in his presence. The Caliph said: O people, this man neither knows who is Allah, nor where He is…. Its meaning is: that his condition in the way he speaks—excessively uttering nonsense and saying what should not be said—is like the condition of someone who does not know that Allah hears every word and is aware of everything that happens in every place."{Al-Faa`il Fi Ghareeb Al-Hadeeth, Vol.1/P.78}.

The phrase “Where is Allah?” also appears in the ḥadīth of the slave girl, in which it was narrated: "I had a slave girl who used to tend my sheep near Uhud and al-Jawwāniyyah. One day, I came and saw that a wolf had taken one of her sheep. And I am a man from the children of Adam—I get upset as they get upset—so I slapped her. Then I came to the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) and he considered that a serious matter. I said, 'O Messenger of Allah, shall I free her?' He said, ‘Bring her to me.’ So I brought her to him. He (PBUH) said to her, ‘Where is Allah?’ She said, ‘In the sky (fis-samāʾ).’ He said, ‘And who am I?’ She said, ‘You are the Messenger of Allah.’ He said, **‘Free her, for she is a believer.’”[Narrated by Muslim].

Al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Fūrak said in his commentary on this ḥadīth (p. 158, with slight adaptation): "The apparent meaning in language indicates that the word ‘Ayn (‘where’) is originally used to ask about place — that is the root usage of the word. However, it has also been employed to ask about something other than physical location. For example, the Arabs would say, when inquiring about a person's status or rank with someone: ‘Ayn manzilat fulān mink?’ (‘Where is so-and-so’s status with you?’) or ‘Ayn fulān min al-amīr?’ (‘Where is so-and-so in relation to the prince?’). They also used it when inquiring about the difference in rank between two people by saying: ‘Ayn fulān min fulān?’ (‘Where is so-and-so in relation to so-and-so?’). In these cases, they did not mean physical place or location, but rather they were seeking to know about rank and status. If this usage is well known in the language, then it becomes possible to interpret the Prophet’s (PBUH) saying ‘Ayn Allāh?’ (‘Where is Allah?’) as a question about His status and greatness in the mind and heart of the girl — that is, to ask whether she believes that Allah is of high rank and exalted status.”

It is mentioned in Maʿālim al-Sunan by al-Khaṭṭābī (Vol.1/P.222): “This question was about a sign of faith and the mark of its people — not a question about the essence of faith or the reality of its true nature. If a disbeliever, wishing to transition from disbelief to the religion of Islam, were to describe only the amount of faith that the slave girl expressed, that alone would not make him a Muslim. He would not be considered a Muslim until he testifies that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muḥammad is the Messenger of Allah (PBUH), and he renounces the religion he previously believed in.”

An-Nawawi said, "……This Hadith is about Allah`s attributes, and there are two opinions in this regard already mentioned several times in the Book of Eman/Faith.The first is that we must believe in them without discussing their meanings along with believing that there is nothing like Allah whatsoever and clearing Him from resembling His creations. The second is giving an adequate interpretation as befits Allah, the Exalted. Proponents of the second opinion said that the idea is to test that she is a monotheist recognizing Allah as the one and only creator and Doer (without let) of all that He intends, and that when He the Exalted is invoked, the invoker turns to the direction of Heaven, just as the praying person turns to the direction of Kabah. This isn`t because Allah the Almighty is limited by the Heaven or the direction of Kabah; rather, Heaven is the Qibla of the invokers, just as Kabah is the Qiblah of the prayer performers. On the other hand, she could be a pagan. However, when she replied that Allah is in the Heaven, the Prophet (PBUH) realized that she is a monotheist and not a pagan."{Shareh Sahih Muslim, Vol.5/P.24}.

In conclusion, Allah is clear from existing with a place or to be asked about with "Where" in its literal sense-indicating place. He the Almighty is the creator of place and time, and it is incumbent upon us to teach that to our children and to answer their questions in accordance with their capacity and to the degree of making them realize that Allah is clear from resembling creations. And Allah the Almighty knows best.