or God does not have a direction (1),
The author's intent by it here is: affirming the direction of highness and aboveness for Allah Almighty. Thus, whoever denies direction in this sense is a misguided Jahmī. And Allah knows best.
Affirming direction in this sense is agreed upon by all religions, as transmitted by Ibn Rushd—who is one of the philosophers!—in his refutation of the deniers of highness. He said: "(Discourse on Direction): As for this attribute, the people of the Sharia from the very beginning have continuously affirmed it for Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, until the Mu'tazilites denied it. Then, the later Ash'arites followed them in denying it, such as Abū al-Maʿālī and those who followed his view. All the apparent texts of the Sharia necessitate the affirmation of direction"—then he mentioned the evidences for that—then he said: "...along with other verses which, if Interpretation were imposed upon them, the entire Sharia would become interpreted; and if it were said about them that they are among the Ambiguous, the entire Sharia would become ambiguous, because all the revealed laws are built upon the fact that Allah is in the heaven." End quote, transmitted from Bayān Talbīs al-Jahmiyya (1/248).
The deniers of highness frequently say: "(He) existed in eternity without direction or place, and He is now as He was." And they say when denying highness: "(This is) due to His exaltation above direction and place."
Thus, they deny direction and intend by it the denial of highness, as al-Juwaynī said in al-Irshād (p. 58): "The Karrāmiyya and some of the Hashwiyya held that the Creator—exalted is He above their statement—is spatially confined and restricted to the upward direction." End quote.
Al-Ghazālī said in al-Iqtiṣād fī al-Iʿtiqād: "The seventh claim: We claim that He is not in a specific direction among the six directions..." End quote.
Al-Shahrastānī said in al-Iqdām fī Nihāyat ʿIlm al-Kalām, while refuting the extremists of
