What is the authenticity of attributing the saying "Allah existed and there was no place" to Imam Ali and Imam Malik, and is it religiously sound? And is it true that Ibn Taymiyyah was the first to say that Allah is in the heavens, and is it authentically reported from him that he said: "Allah descends as I descend now"?

Summary of the Answer: The saying: "Allah was, and there was no place, and He is now as He was" is falsely attributed to Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) and has not been proven from Imam Malik. It was denounced by Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar, and others, who considered it a fabricated addition to the hadith "Allah was, and there was nothing before Him." This saying is used by people of innovation to deny the attribute of Uluw (Exaltation) and Istiwa' (Ascension) for Allah upon His Throne.

Contemporary scholars have clarified the falsity and contradiction of this saying. Allah was, and there was nothing before Him. Then He created the heavens and the earth, and His Throne was upon the water. Then He ascended (istawa) over the Throne. This temporal sequence does not imply a change or impossibility in Allah's essence.

The claim that the first to say "Indeed, Allah is in the heavens" was Sheikh al-Islam and his student Ibn al-Qayyim is a false claim. The hadith of the slave girl whom the Prophet (peace be upon him) asked, "Where is Allah?" and she replied, "In the heavens," was narrated by Muslim. Al-Dhahabi, in his book "Al-Uluw," mentioned many texts from the imams of the Salaf confirming Allah's exaltation and His ascension over His Throne. He also quoted Imam Abu Hanifa as declaring someone who denied that Allah is in the heavens, ascended over His Throne, as a disbeliever. As for what is attributed to Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah that he said: "Allah descends like my descent now," and he was sitting and then descended, it is a lie against him.