such as the hadith of intercession, and what was narrated in it from his statement, peace and blessings of God be upon him:

"Then I will return to my Lord and find Him at His place—or in His place—"(1). So they claimed based on this meaning that God Almighty has a place(2), exalted is God above that. However, this is a wording that Sharīk ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Namir was alone in narrating in this story, and his companions contradicted him in it and did not follow him upon it. The way to deal with such an addition is that it be rejected and not accepted due to its impossibility, and because the contradiction of the narrator's companions against him in his narration is like the contradiction of clear proof, and if two clear proofs conflict, they both fall.

And this wording, were it authentic, could bear the meaning: that he finds his Lord, Mighty and Majestic, at His first place of answering the intercession and fulfilling the request, since it was narrated in the report that he returns repeatedly and asks his Lord Almighty regarding the sinners of his nation, and each time He accepts his intercession for them, and accepts his intercession through his asking for them(3).

[I say: This is in the hadith of the Ascension (Miʿrāj) from the hadith of the narration of Sharīk; but al-Khaṭṭābī erred in that, so the hadith of the Ascension became confused for him with the hadith of intercession. However, in the hadith of intercession: "Then I will seek permission from my Lord in His abode, and permission will be granted to me to enter upon Him, so when I see Him, I will fall down prostrating." He mentioned that three times, and this is in the Sahih (Authentic) from the narration of Qatāda from Anas, may God be pleased with him. As for that wording, it is in the hadith of the Ascension