Is it permissible to issue a fatwa on matters of creed from someone who says that the statement "Allah is in the heavens" attributes a place to Allah, and that the hadith of the slave girl "contains aspersion"? And what is incumbent upon us in advising friends who attend his lessons?

The People of Sunnah and the Community (Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah) believe that Allah is characterized by exaltedness (uluww), and that He rose over His Throne above all things. This is what the predecessors (salaf) of the Ummah unanimously agreed upon, and what the texts of the Qur’an and Sunnah indicate. The slave girl affirmed this when the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, asked her: "Where is Allah?" She replied: "In the sky." People should be convinced of the truth and invited to believe in what Allah and His Messenger have affirmed for Him. As for the scholar who teaches people the Qur’an, interprets it, and issues fatwas, he will be rewarded for the truth he taught, and mistaken for the falsehood he propagated. It is hoped that Allah will forgive him if he did not thoroughly investigate the verses and hadiths regarding the attributes (sifat). However, if he was aware of them and denied them out of partisanship and stubbornness, he is in grave danger. It is advised to be gentle with the sheikh and gift him books on the creed of the predecessors, so that perhaps he may return to the truth and clearly see the guidance.