The Explanation of the Saying of Allah فَثَمَّ وَجْهُ اللهِ

Allah Said:

﴿وَللهِ الْمَشْرِقُ وَالْمَغْرِبُ فَأَيْنَمَا تُوَلُّوا فَثَمَّ وَجْهُ اللهِ﴾

[which means] “To Allah belongs the east and the west, so wherever you turn yourselves, there is the Wajh of Allah.” The meaning is that wherever you have directed yourselves in the optional prayer, while traveling, then there is the Qiblah of Allah, i.e., that direction to which you have faced is a Qiblah for you. The organ is not meant by the word “wajh.”

The judgment of the one who believes in an organ for Allah is that he is charged with blasphemy, because had Allah had an organ then He would have been like us, and then what is valid for us, such as annihilation, would have been valid for Him.

Among what could be meant by the word “wajh” is “jihah” [direction; directing oneself]. What is meant by that direction is what one does for the sake of Allah, like for someone to say, “I did such and such for the ‘wajh’ of Allah.” The meaning of that is “I did such and such out of obedience to the Order of Allah.”

It is forbidden to say like what has become spread from the ignorant people, “Open the window so we can see the face of Allah.” It is forbidden to say that because Allah said to Musa,

﴿لَنْ تَرَانِى﴾

[which means] “You will not see Me [in this life].” Even if the people say that they did not mean that they are really going to see Allah Himself, it is forbidden [to say this statement].