The ‘Arsh’ translated as throne literally means an elevated seating structure that kings and emperors use to sit on although we do not say Allah sits on the arsh it is likely a symbol of his kingship as the creation of the throne was not for the purpose of sitting on it. Indeed, Allah is transcendent of occupying a place and time or being similar to his creation. Allah alone knows the reality of the Arsh.
With respect to its meaning in the Holy Quran, it is a great structure which Allah has created. As mentioned by Iman Al Qurtubi, ‘The Arsh is the greatest of things that Allah has created.’ (Tafseer AL Qurtubi Vol. 8, Pg. 302-303).
Evidence of an Arsh
Arsh
23:116
Exalted be Allah the true King there is no god but Him the Lord of the Glorious Throne
13:2
It is Allah who raised up the heavens with no visible supports and then established the throne
57:4
It is He Who created the heavens and earth in six days and then established himself over the Throne (in rulership)
69:17
On that Day eight mighty angels will bear the Throne of your Lord above them
39:75
And you will see the Angels encircling round about the Throne extolling with the praise of their Lord
11:7
And it is He who created the heavens and the earth in six days and His Throne had been upon water
Hadith about the Arsh:
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), In Majah (182) and Ahmad (15755). This hadith was classed as Saheeh by at-Tabari; & as Hasan by at-Tirmidhi.
Narrated Abu Sa`id:
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “People will be struck unconscious on the Day of Resurrection and I will be the first to regain consciousness, and behold! There I will see Moses holding one of the pillars of Allah's Throne. I will wonder whether he has become conscious before me or he has been exempted, because of his unconsciousness at the Tur (mountain) which he received (on the earth).”
Reference: Sahih al-Bukhari 3398
In-book reference: Book 60, Hadith 7
Jabir reported that the Throne of the most Compassionate shook because of the death of Sa'd b. Mu'adh.
Reference: Sahih Muslim 2466b
In-book reference: Book 44, Hadith 17
Narrated Abu Hurairah [may Allah be pleased with him]:
That the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "I am the first for whom the earth will be split, and then I will be adorned with garments from the garments of Paradise. Then I will stand at the right of the Throne. No one from the creation will be in that place other than I."
Grade: Sahih
Reference: Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3611
In-book reference: Book 49, Hadith 7
English translation: Vol. 1, Book 46, Hadith 3611
Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "He who gives respite to someone who is in straitened circumstances, or grants him remission, Allah will shelter him in the shade of His Throne, on the Day of Resurrection, when there will be no shade except its shade." Narrated in At Tirmidhi.
Jabir b. ‘Abd Allah reported the Prophet (May peace be upon him) as saying :
“I have been permitted to tell about one of Allah’s angels who bears the throne that the distance between the lobe of his ear and his shoulder is a journey of seven hundred years.”
Grade: Sahih
Reference: Sunan Abi Dawud 4727
In-book reference: Book 42, Hadith 132
English translation: Book 41, Hadith 470
Rasulallah saw said:
“Glory is to Allah and praise is to Him,
by the multitude of His creation, by His Pleasure, by the weight of His Throne, and by the extent of His Words. “
(Recite three times in Arabic upon rising in the morning.)
Reference:
Sahih Muslim 4/2090.
Aifa‘ b. ‘Abd al-Kilā‘ī told of a man who asked Allah’s messenger which sūra of the Qur’ān was greatest and was told that it is “Say, He is Allah, One.” He asked which verse of the Qur’ān was greatest and was told that it is the Throne Verse, “Allah, there is no god but He, the Living, he Eternal.” He asked Allah’s prophet which verse he would like to bring good to him and his people and was told, ‘‘The end of sūra al-Baqara, for it is one of the treasures of Allah’s mercy from under His Throne which He gave to this people, and there is no good in this world and the next which it does not include.”
Dārimī transmitted it.
Reference: Mishkat al-Masabih 2169
In-book reference: Book 8, Hadith 5
Narrated Abu Dharr:
Once I was with the Prophet (ﷺ) in the mosque at the time of sunset. The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "O Abu Dharr! Do you know where the sun sets?" I replied, "Allah and His Apostle know best." He said, "It goes and prostrates underneath (Allah's) Throne; and that is Allah's Statement:-- 'And the sun runs on its fixed course for a term (decreed). And that is the decree of All-Mighty, the All-Knowing....' Qur’an 36.38.
Reference: Sahih al-Bukhari 4802
In-book reference: Book 65, Hadith 32
It was narrated from Nu'man bin Bashir that :
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "What you mention of glory of Allah, of Tabsih (Subhan-Allah), Tahlil (Allahu-Akbar) and Tahmid (Al-Hamdu lillah), revolves around the Throne, buzzing like bees, reminding of the one who said it. Wouldn't any one of you like to have, or continue to have, something that reminds of him (in the presence of Allah)?'"
Grade: Hasan
Reference: Sunan Ibn Majah 3809
In-book reference: Book 33, Hadith 153
English translation: Vol. 5, Book 33, Hadith 3809
Mu’adh bin Jabal said:
“I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: ‘Paradise has one hundred grades, each of which is as big as the distance between heaven and earth. The highest of them is Firdaws and the best of them is Firdaws. The Throne is above Firdaws and from it spring forth the rivers of Paradise. If you ask of Allah, ask Him for Firdaws.’”
Grade: Sahih
Reference: Sunan Ibn Majah 4331
In-book reference: Book 37, Hadith 232
English translation: Vol. 5, Book 37, Hadith 433
Ibn ‘Umar reported the Prophet as saying, “Paradise is decorated for Ramadan from the beginning of the year till a following year, and when the first day of Ramadan comes a wind under the throne blows some of the leaves of paradise on the maidens with bright large eyes,* and they say, ‘My Lord, appoint us husbands from among Thy servants with whom we shall be happy and who will be happy with us’.” *Qur’an 54:22.
Baihaqi transmitted the three traditions in Shu'ab al-iman.
Reference: Mishkat al-Masabih 1967
In-book reference: Book 7, Hadith 1
Narrated Imran bin Husain:
I went to the Prophet (ﷺ) and tied my she-camel at the gate. The people of Bani Tamim came to the Prophet (ﷺ) who said "O Bani Tamim! Accept the good tidings." They said twice, 'You have given us the good tidings, now give us something" Then some Yemenites came to him and he said, "Accept the good tidings, O people of Yemem, for Bani Tamim refused them." They said, "We accept it, O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! We have come to ask you about this matter (i.e. the start of creations)." He said, "First of all, there was nothing but Allah, and (then He created His Throne). His throne was over the water, and He wrote everything in the Book (Al lahw Al Mahfuz) and created the Heavens and the Earth." Then a man shouted, "O Ibn Husain! Your she-camel has gone away!" So, I went away and could not see the she-camel because of the mirage. By Allah, I wished I had left that she-camel (but not that gathering).
Reference: Sahih al-Bukhari 3191
In-book reference: Book 59, Hadith
Evidence of Kursi
Kursi
The Kursi which literally means ‘a chair’ is another great structure which Allah has created and is different from the Arsh, and is smaller. Like the Arsh, the creation of the Kursi was not was not for the purpose of sitting. Allah is exalted above sitting and standing and all spatial location and placement.
The great exegete As Suddi has stated, ‘The Kursi is in front of the Arsh.’
Therefore, both the Arsh and the Kursi are creations of Allah, and the reality of these are known to Allah alone & and Allah Knows Best.
Evidence of the Kursi
“Allah! There is no deity save Him, the Alive, the Eternal. Neither slumber nor sleep overtaketh Him. Unto Him belongeth whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth. Who is he that intercedeth with Him save by His leave? He knoweth that which is in front of them and that which is behind them, while they encompass nothing of His knowledge save what He will. His throne extends over the heavens and the earth, and He is never weary of preserving them. He is the Sublime, the Tremendous.” Qur’an 2:255
Abu Dharr al-Ghifārī said that the Messenger of Allāh (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said:
“The seven heavens in comparison to the Kursī is nothing but like a ring thrown in a desert, and the excellence of the ʽArsh (Throne of Allāh) over the Kursī is like the excellence of that desert over that ring.” - Bayhaqi
Conclusion:
The Arsh and the Kursi are true and we cannot imagine how they are, they are creations beyond our comprehension and we affirm what Allah and his Rasul SAW said about them with their intended meanings.
Some may be lead to think that because Allah has a throne that he must be literally over it in his being, actually this is not the case as Allah is not confined to a place nor is he a body with limits I.e so he is not over the throne literally or anywhere else, Allah is the eternal light free of space, place and time and he is now as he always was and cannot be measured by space or parameters like objects are, his being is infinite therefore parameters are inappropriate, he is forever light and all powerful and he is velied. If one confines Allah to a place he has fallen out of the fold of Islam. Although Allah has the ability to unveil his light wherever and whenever he wants with no need for a space or place as proven in the case of Musa AS’s event with Allah at Mount Tur where Allah declared that if he revealed himself on the mountain it would crumble, therefore it is possible for Allah to unveil himself at his discretion upon anything be it a mountain or a throne and he know the how and we do not. Time and space are creations of Allah and it is not correct to ascribe dependency of Allah on his creation, this is blasphemy to say Allah needs a space to reside for example. Allah is not in need of his creation to exist! It is we who are in need of Allah!
Tanzih refers to affirming, in absolute and emphatic terms, that there is no similitude between Allah and His creation. Allah does not resemble His creation in any way, and there is no creation that is similar to Him in any way. No imagination can conceive of Him and no understanding can comprehend Him, as He is different from all created beings.
Allah Most High says about Himself, “There is nothing whatsoever like unto Him.” (Qur’an 42:11)
And He Most High says in Surat al-Ikhlas, “And there is none like unto Him.” (Qur’an 112:4)
Imam Ibn Jarir al-Tabari states in his well-known exegesis (tafsir) of the Qur’an, “Allah made himself exalted over the heavens with the exaltation of sovereignty and power, not that of dislodgement and movement.” (Tasir al-Tabari 1/430)
Imam at-Tahawi says, “He [Allah] is independent of the Throne and that which is beneath it.” (Al-Aqida al-Tahawiyya, Point: 50)
Imam Abu Hanifa (Allah have mercy on him) said in his Kitab al-Wasiyya, ‘We agree that Allah performed istiwa [established himself] over the Throne (in kingship/rule of it) without Him having any need for it or resting on it. He is the Guardian of the Throne and all besides the Throne. If He [Allah Most High] was in need of sitting or settling [on the Throne], then before the creation of the Throne, where was He Most High? In effect, He is transcendent of all of this.’ (Minah al-Rawd al-Azhar fi sharh al-Fiqh al-Akbar P: 126-127)
Ali RA said “Allah is now as he ever was.”
Imam al-Tahawi (May Allah have mercy in him) states in his famous reference work on Muslim beliefs,
"Anyone who describes Allah as being in any way the same as a human being has become an unbeliever. All those who grasp this will take heed and refrain from saying things such as the unbelievers say, and they will know that He, in His attributes, is not like human beings.”
(Al-Aqida al-Tahawiyya, article 34)
Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (Allah have mercy on him) states, “Whosoever thinks that Allah has a body made of organs is an idol-worshipper… Whosoever worships a body is considered a disbeliever by the consensus of all the scholars – both the early scholars (Salaf) as well as the late ones (Muta’akhirun).” (Iljam al-Anam an ilm al-Kalam, P: 6-8)
Imam Ma'turidi also said "Whoever says Allah has a body (jism) is a mushrik." and “Imam Maturidi also said whoever says Allah is everywhere is a kafir.”
Allah says: “But they shall not encompass Him with their knowledge.”
He is not to be described with having a form, body, limits, directions and a material existence that occupies a particular space or location. Limiting Allah to time and space implies confining Him to His creation, because the one who exists in a physical place would, by nature, be a body or object with dimensions and measurable and this is not befitting of Allah
Imam al-Tahawi (Allah have mercy on him) states, “He (Allah) is beyond having limits placed on Him, or being restricted, or having parts or limbs. Nor is He contained by the six directions like all created things.” (Al-Aqida al-Tahawiyya, Point: 38)
It is stated in Al-Fiqh al-Akbar of Imam Abu Hanifa RA “Allah is an entity unlike any other entity. The meaning of [Allah being a] entity [unlike any other] is that He is without body (jism), substance (jawhar), or accident (arad). He has no definition/limit, no opposite, no equal, and no peer…”
In his book, Ihya’u Ulum id-Din, Imam al-Ghazali said:
”Places do not contain Him , nor do the directions, Earth, or heavens. He is attributed with an istawa’ (استواء) over the Arsh as He said in the Qur’an, with the meaning that He willed and not as what people may delude. It is an istawa’ (استواء) which is clear of touching, resting, holding, moving, and containment. The Arsh does not carry Him, but rather the Arsh and those who carry it are all carried by Allah’s Power, and they are subjugated to Him. He is above the Arsh, the heavens, and everything in status, with an aboveness that does not give Him proximity to the Arsh or the heavens as it does not give Him farness from Earth. He is higher in status than everything: higher in status than the Arsh and the heavens, as He is higher in status than Earth and the rest of the creation.“
Imam al-Ghazali also said:
”Allah, the Exalted, existed eternally and there was no place. He is not a body, jawhar (minute indivisible particle), or bodily property, and He is not on a place or in a place.”
“Abu Mansur Al Maturidi– may Allah have mercy on him – further says: The foundation of this issue is that Allah Almighty was, when there was no place, then locations were raised while He remains exactly as He ever was. Therefore, He is as He ever was and He ever was as He is now. Exalted is He beyond any change or transition or movement or cessation! For all these are portents of contingency (hudth) by which the contingent nature of the world can be known, and the proofs of its eventual passing away.”
The Throne, which is something created of light, or a substance [or jewel] the reality of which is beyond the knowledge of creatures. It was narrated that the Prophet – Allah bless and greet him – while describing the sun, said: “Jibreel AS brings it, in his hand, some of the light of the Throne with which he clothes it just as one of you wears his clothes, and so every day that it rises”; he also mentioned that the moon receives a handful of the light of the Throne. Therefore, the predication of istiwâ’ to the Throne is along two lines: first, its extolment in the light of all that He said concerning His authority in Lordship and over creatures; second, its specific mention as the greatest and loftiest of all objects in creation, in keeping with the customary predication of magnificent matters to magnificent objects, just as it is said: “So-and-so has achieved sovereignty over such-and-such a country, and has established himself over such-and-such a region.” This is not to restrict the meaning of this sovereignty literally, but only to say that it is well-known that whoever owns sovereignty over this, then whatever lies below it is meant a fortiori.”
Imam At Tahawi also states:
Al-'Arsh and al-Kursi are true.
He is independent of the Arsh and what is beneath it.
He encompasses everything (in mercy) and is over it (the Arsh - by his dominance/rule - not literally residing in a place as he is eternal in being free of space) and what He has created is incapable of encompassing Him.
With regards to “Allah rose over the throne.” The Maturidi school say “The meaning is as Allah and his Messenger intended it, as Allah did say and not as we understand.”
Rasulallah saw said “Think about the creation of Allah but not Allah himself.” (I.e don’t imagine his being as it’s impossible for us, whatever we think of Allah in terms of appearance Allah is other than that.)
Some companions were with the Prophet SAW and one asked, “O Messenger of Allah, is our Lord near such that we should converse with Him quietly, or is He far-off such that we should cry out to him aloud?”
So Allah revealed,
“And when My servants ask you concerning Me – indeed I am near” – for He is al-Raqeeb (the Responsive) al-Shaheed (the Witness), familiar with what is secretly hidden and concealed. He knows the treachery of the eye and what is concealed in the breasts. So (he) is also near to the one who supplicates to Him with a response, and so He said, “I respond to the supplication of the supplicant when he calls upon Me“. - Qur’an 2:186.
Allah says in the following verse of the Qur’an:
“He [Allah] is the One who has revealed to you the Book [the Qur’an]. Out of it there are verses that are muhkamat [of established meaning], which are the principal verses of the Book, and some others are mutashabihat [whose definite meanings are unknown]. Now those who have perversity in their hearts go after the mutashabih of it, seeking [to create] discord, and searching for its interpretation [that meets their desires], while no one knows its interpretation except Allah; and those well-grounded in knowledge say: We believe therein; all is from our Lord. Only the men of understanding observe the advice.” (Qur’an 3:7)
Imam Shafi’i (Allah have mercy on him) would simply say regarding the mutashabihat texts, “I believe in what has come from Allah as it was intended by Allah, and I believe in what has come from the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) as it was intended by the Messenger of Allah.” (Ibn Qudama, Dhamm al-Ta’wil)
& Allah knows best,
La ilaha ilallah Muhammadur Rasulullah.
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