He denies that Allah rose above His Throne and he is asking: where was Allah before He created the heavens and before He created the Throne?
Question

                There is someone who denies that Allah is above His creation and rose above His Throne, may He be glorified and exalted, and he always asks: where was Allah before He created the heavens, and before He created directions, and before He created the Throne?
Praise be to Allah.
      Firstly: 
In 
    the answer to question no. 992, we quoted the evidence 
    that proves that Allah, may He be exalted, is above His creation and that 
    He, may He be glorified, is above the heavens. 
In 
    the answer to question no. 146779 we explained that 
    the Throne of the Most Gracious, may He be exalted, was above the water 
    before He created the heavens and the earth and all that is in them. 

    Secondly: 

    Before the creation of the Throne, and before the creation of the heavens 
    and the earth, and before the creation of directions, there was Allah, may 
    He be exalted, and there was nothing before Him, nothing after Him, and 
    nothing besides Him, as al-Bukhaari (7418) narrated that ‘Imraan ibn Husayn 
    (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I was with the Prophet (blessings and 
    peace of Allah be upon him) when some people from Banu Tameem came to him 
    and he said: “O Banu Tameem, accept the good news.” They said: You have 
    given us the good news; now give us something. Then some people from Yemen 
    came in and he said: “Accept the good news, O people of Yemen, for Banu 
    Tameem did not accept it.” They said: We accept it, for we have come to you 
    to learn about the religion and to ask you how the matter was from the very 
    beginning. He said: “There was Allah and nothing existed before Him, and His 
    Throne was on the water. Then He created the heavens and the earth, and He 
    wrote all things in al-Lawh al-Mahfooz.” 

    Al-Haafiz (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

    This indicates that there was nothing besides Him: neither water nor the 
    Throne nor anything else, because these are things other than Allah, may He 
    be exalted. End quote. 

    One of the supplications of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be 
    upon him) was that which was narrated by Muslim (2713): “Allaahumma 
    anta al-awwal fa laysa qablaka shay’un, wa anta al-aakhir fa laysa ba’daka 
    shay’un, wa anta al-zaahir fa laysa fawqaka shay’un wa anta al-baatin fa 
    laysa doonaka shay’un (O 
    Allah, You are the First so there is nothing before You, and You are the 
    Last so there is nothing after You. You are al-Zaahir [the greatest and 
    highest] so there is nothing above You, and You are al-Baatin [aware of the 
    subtlest secrets] so there is nothing closer than You).” 

    It was narrated that Abu Razeen said: O 
    Messenger of Allah, where was our Lord before He created His creation? He 
    said: “Nothing existed but Him, with nothing beneath Him and nothing above 
    Him. Then He created His Throne above the water.”

    Narrated by at-Tirmidhi (3109), Ibn Maajah 
    (182) and Ahmad (15755). 

    This hadith was classed as saheeh by at-Tabari; 
    as hasan by at-Tirmidhi, adh-Dhahabi and Ibn Taymiyah; and as da‘eef by al-Albaani 
    in Da‘eef at-Tirmidhi.
To 
    sum up: Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, is unique in His divinity, 
    so there was no created entity with Him in past eternity. Rather He was 
    Allah, and there was nothing before Him. Then He created His creation and 
    rose above His Throne, as He has told us in His Book, in such a manner as He 
    willed, may He be exalted, and there is none that can dispute with Him 
    regarding His sovereignty and He has no partner in His authority. 

    Secondly: 

    This question that the deniers pose to those who affirm that Allah, may He 
    be exalted, is above His creation and rose above His Throne should, rather, 
    be addressed to them, if they suggest that that Allah, may He be exalted, 
    needs His Throne or His heavens or anything of His creation. Exalted be 
    Allah far above what they say. But if those who affirm the divine attributes 
    affirm, in addition to that, what every Muslim believes, that Allah, may He 
    be exalted, is completely independent of means and has no need of any of His 
    creation, and no one opposes Him in His sovereignty and His authority, and 
    that the Throne, the heavens and all creatures only exist and continue to 
    exist by the support of their Lord, Who is the one who created them and 
    created them for the purpose for which they were created, and sustained them 
    and provided for them, and that the Throne needs its Lord, and it is held up 
    by His might and power, for “Verily! 
    Allah grasps the heavens and the earth lest they move away from their 
    places, and if they were to move away from their places, there is not one 
    that could grasp them after Him. Truly, He is Ever Most Forbearing, 
    OftForgiving” [Faatir 35:41] 
    – if that is the case (that everything needs Allah and He has no need of 
    anything), there is no point to this argument. 

    Moreover, this question could be asked of the deniers too, and this 
    assumption cannot be avoided unless they affirm that which is proven by 
    Islamic texts and common sense, that Allah is above His creation. 

    Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

    Allah was and there was nothing with Him, then He created the universe, so 
    it must be one of three scenarios: 

    Either He created it within Himself, then He separated from it. This is 
    impossible; Allah is far above being in contact with filth and other 
    things; 
Or 
    He created it outside Himself, then He entered it. This is also impossible; 
    Allah is far above entering into His creation. There is no dispute among any 
    of the Muslims that these two scenarios are impossible. 
Or 
    He created it outside of Himself, and did not enter into it. This is the 
    truth; no other scenario is possible and nothing but this is befitting to 
    Allah.

    End quote from Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa (5/152) 
As 
    that is the case, it may be said: what is the reservation that may result 
    from affirming what Allah affirmed about Himself, that He is above His 
    creation and He rose over His Throne, which does not lead to any similar or 
    worse reservation in the case of those who deny that? 

    Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) also said: 
    
It 
    is known that there is nothing in the text that mentions the word direction 
    or denies it, as it mentions and affirms His being high, rising above, being 
    above, ascending to Him, and so on. So it may be said to the one who denies 
    the idea of direction: Do you mean by direction something that exists and is 
    created? For Allah is not encompassed by His creation. Or do you mean by 
    direction what is beyond the universe? For undoubtedly Allah is above the 
    universe and distinct from His creation. Similarly, it could be said to the 
    one who says that Allah is in a particular direction: Do you mean thereby 
    that Allah is above the universe? Or do you mean that Allah is encompassed 
    by any of His creation? If you mean the former, that is true, but if you 
    mean the latter, that is false. 

    Allah is as the imams (leading scholars) of Ahl as-Sunnah said, above His 
    heavens, over His Throne, distinct from His creation. End quote from 
    Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa (3/41-42) 

    And Allah knows best.