Is the Hadith of Abu Razin: "He was in a dense mist (or 'ama'), with no air beneath Him and no air above Him, then He created His Throne upon water" authentic, and how can one reconcile His statement: "with no air above Him" with the fact that Allah Almighty is Al-Dhahir (The Manifest), with nothing above Him?

The hadith was graded hasan (good) by Al-Tirmidhi and Al-Dhahabi, but some scholars explicitly declared it da'if (weak) due to the presence of Waki' ibn Hudus, who is majhul (unknown) and was only authenticated by Ibn Hibban.

As for its meaning, according to those who authenticated it, "al-'ama'" (العماء) refers to clouds, similar to the verse: (Are they waiting for nothing but that Allah should come to them in the shadows of clouds and the angels [as well] and the matter is concluded? And to Allah return all matters) [Al-Baqarah: 210]. The phrase: (what is beneath it is air, and what is above it is air) refers back to al-'ama'.

It is also said that "al-'ama'" means that there was nothing else with Him. In this case, the meaning would be similar to the hadith of 'Imran ibn Husayn: "Allah existed, and there was nothing else with Him, and His Throne was upon water." And "ma" (ما) in the phrase: (what is beneath it is air, and what is above it is air) would be a negative particle, serving to confirm the negation of things.