What is the most appropriate reply to kids when they ask where is Allah..?
I grew up in Pakistan hearing Allah is everywhere. also He is on His throne.. but when i read ascent to felicity it learned we cannot give physical attributes to Allah and He is not bound by external factors like time, space, quantity etc.
Bismillahi Ta’ala
Walaikum Assalam Warahmatullah,
Before tackling how to address this matter with kids, lets review the sound understanding of this matter.
Yes, it is correct that we may not associate physical attributes of direction within time and space to Allah. This is the correct and soundest stance that Allah Ta’ala exists without time and space. This is also better worded in saying that Allah is beyond such restrictions which brings forth deficiency.
When we say that Allah is everywhere”, then it refers to the fact that Allah has absolute knowledge of all of His creations at all the times. Thus He is with every creation in the sense of knowing and that of sustaining the creation.
At the same time when we say “Allah made istiwaa on his throne”, then it is not to define a direction, particular action or physicality to a point in space, rather to affirm Allah’s declaration in Sura Taha. Beyond this, we cannot comprehend the modality of such affirmation and have been commanded to just accept as is and continue.
Hence, when Imam Malik rh. was asked about it, he responded by saying that “istiwaa” is gher majhool i.e. it is “not unknown”. This does not mean that it is “known”, rather the statement is carefully constructed by Imam Malik rh. to suggest that matter is something factual and of haqeeqah with true affirmation behind it, but we do not know of it. Some mistake this and say that “istiwa is known”, and thus confuse the “istiwa” with positioning or sitting on throne. The sound stance is to say that while istiwaa is mentioned in Qur’an, and we even know the arabic meaning of the term istiwaa, but its application to Allah cannot be done in the same way as it automatically will ascribe a modality of the action in that meaning to Allah. So we affirm the word of the Qur’an, and affirm that it has a real meaning, however neither can we establish the intended meaning here, nor can we even comprehend the modality of it. This is what Imam Malik rh’s statement means when he says “and the kayf of it is “gher ma’qool” (incomprehensible)”
I understand that it can be a challenge to explain these demanding concepts for children. So, instead of trying to educate them of all the intricacies of the matter which will genuinely confuse them and convolute their thought process, I suggest try and find suitable simplification.
Something along the following lines would work.
“Allah is not like anything you see around you. He created everything, like the trees, the sky, and even you! In the same way Allah has also created time, through which you see the days and night around you. You grow older through time. Allah has made all this possible. So Allah looks after you no matter where you are and takes care of you at all times.”
or you may check this blog post which addresses this issue as well:
How do I answer my five-year old daughter when she asks, “Where is Allah?”
https://www.basiraeducation.org/blog/parenting-question-of-the-week
Wallahu A’lam
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Mufti Faisal al-Mahmudi