The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said in a Hadith narrated by Bukhari: « Do not favor me over the Prophet Yunus ibn Matta (Jonah). »
This Hadith means that Allah does not have a fixed place and a specific direction where He is located.
The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) ascended to the Seventh Heaven (Mi’raj). He passed and flew over the Throne and the Seat (‘Arsh and Kursiyyi), all while being very close to his Lord. In contrast, the Prophet Yunus, drowning in the ocean, was swallowed by a fish, and that fish was then swallowed by another, larger fish. (Inside the belly of the fish, Yunus addressed Allah directly).
Muhammad was no closer to Allah than Yunus while the former was in the heavens and the latter in the depths of the ocean. This is the meaning of the Hadith: « Do not favor me over Yunus son of Matta. » « Indeed, Allah is Ample and All-Knowing. »
The human being is the Khalifa (vicegerent) of Allah on earth, because the essence of man (dhāt) is the vicegerent of the essence of Allah. The attributes of man (sifāt) are the vicegerents of the attributes of Allah, which are: Capability, Will, Knowledge, Life, Hearing, Sight, and Speech.
Every person possesses at least some of these attributes, even though they truly belong to Allah. The deeds of man are the vicegerents of the deeds of Allah.
Every person is Allah’s vicegerent somewhere on earth, no matter how small. Each of us is a master and owner of something, while the true Master or Owner (Rabb) is Allah. Thus, we speak of the master of the house, the owner of the clothing, the book, but the true Master (Owner) is Allah.
And just as the soul of man cannot be localized at a defined point, he is the vicegerent of Allah who, likewise, has no defined place or defined direction. The human being’s soul is not localizable and has neither a how nor a why. This is the reason why only man can be the Khalifa or vicegerent of Allah…
Quranic Verse: “…innī jā’ilun fil ardi khalīfatan” (« Indeed, I am going to establish upon the earth a vicegerent ») Surah 2, Verse 30.
Source: Sagesse de Baye by Sheikh Mouhamadou Moussa Yall.