Ash-Shafi^iyy asserted that Allah exists without being confined to a place or direction

والصَّلَاةُ والسَّلاَمُ عَلَى سَيّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ أَشْرَفِ اْلمُرْسَلِيْنَ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ الطَّيّبِيْنَ الطَّاهِرِيْن

Imam Ash-Shafi^iyy, may Allah have mercy on him, asserted that Allah exists without being confined to a place or direction, without 'how,' and independent of time:

 (إنه تعالى كان ولا مكان فخلق الـمكان وهو على صفة الأزلية كما كان قبل خلقه الـمكان لا يجوز عليه التغيِير فى ذاته ولا في صفاته)

(‘innahu ta^ala kana wa la makan, fakhalaqa l-makan, wa Huwa ^ala sifati l-‘azaliyyati kama kana qabla khalqi l-makan, la yajuzu ^alayhi t-taghayyuru fi dhatihi wa la fi sifatih)

"He exists, exalted is He, eternally without a beginning, as there is no place existing eternally. He created the place, and He is attributed with eternity free from beginning, as He precedes the creation of place. Change is impossible concerning Him, both in His being and His attributes."

 Shaykh Ibnu l-Mu^allim Al-Qurachiyy reported in his book "Najmu l-Muhtadi -The Star of the Well-Guided-" (page 551 of the manuscript presented here), that Muslim scholars unanimously declare as non-Muslim everyone who believes that Allah would be seated on the throne. He also specified that Imam Ash-Shafi^iyy confirmed this ruling.

(قال وهذا ينظمُ مَن كُفْرُهُ مُجمَعٌ عَليهِ ومَن كفَّرناهُ مِن أهلِ القِبلةِ كالقائلينَ بِخَلقِ القُرءانِ وَبأنَّهُ لا يَعلَمُ المَعدوماتِ قَبلَ وُجودِها ومَن لا يُؤمِنُ بالقَدرِ وكذا مَن يَعتقدُ أنَّ اللهَ جالسٌ على العَرشِ كما حَكاهُ القاضي الحُسَينُ بهذا عن نَصِّ الشَّافِعيِّ رضيَ اللهُ عنه)

"He said: And this encompasses everyone who is unanimously considered a non-believer and anyone we declare disbelieving among those who falsely claim Islam, such as those who assert that the divine Speech of Allah would be created, those who deny that Allah knew things before their existence, those who do not believe in predestination, and also those who believe that Allah would be seated on the Throne; just as the Qadi l-Husayn conveyed from the text of Ash-Shafi^iyy, may Allah accept his deeds."

The scan provided here is from the manuscript preserved in France. Imam Ibnu r-Rif^ah also reported the same reference in his book "Kifayatu n-Nabih fi Charhi t-Tanbih."

 The Shaykh, the Faqih (jurisprudence specialist), Fakhru d-Din ibnu l-Mu^allim Al-Qurachiyy, was born in 660 A.H. in Egypt and passed away in 725 A.H. in Damascus, may Allah have mercy on him. The Hafidh Ibnu Hajar Al-^Asqalaniyy documented his biography in his work "Ad-Duraru l-Kaminah fi ’A^yani l-Mi’ati th-Thaminah."

As for the summit (^allamah), the Shaykh, the Qadi l-Husayn, he is one of the greatest scholars of the school of Imam Ash-Shafi^iyy. He passed away in 462 of the Hegira, may Allah have mercy on him. Imam ^Abdu l-Karim Ar-Rafi^yy said of him: "He was called the Scholar of the community."