And he saw Him with his eye time after time (1), may the peace and blessings of God be upon him and upon his family and his Companions, the imams of
Almighty and the creation, nor any distance or boundary between them. Thus, either the Lord Almighty is indwelling within His creation and intermingling with them, such that He is in every place—and this is the doctrine of the indwelling sect (Ḥulūliyya), whose disbelief the people of the Sunna have reached a consensus upon.
Or, He has no place at all, neither in the direction of highness nor in any other direction, so He is non-existent with no existence, and non-existence is the god of the deniers and the atheists. We seek refuge in God from that.
Know that the attribute of drawing near indicated by the hadith of the Ascension is affirmed in more than one hadith. Among them is what al-Bukhārī (2441) and Muslim (2768) narrated from Ibn ʿUmar, may God be pleased with them both, that he heard the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him, say regarding the private conversation: "Indeed, God draws the believer near, places His covering over him, and conceals him, saying: 'Do you recognize such-and-such sin? Do you recognize such-and-such sin?'..." the hadith.
Al-Dārimī, may Allah have mercy on him, said in Al-Naqḍ (p. 353): "The interpretation of this is: that it refers to concealment, along with the closeness, drawing near, and private conversation that the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him, mentioned." End quote.
