The Throne has bearers [hamala] who carry it. As Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) has said:
Those who bear the Throne, and those who are around it, proclaim the praise of their Lord and believe in Him, and they ask forgiveness for those who believe, [saying]: "Our Lord, You embrace all things in mercy and knowledge; therefore forgive those who repent and follow Your way. Ward off from them the punishmentof Hell!" (40:7)
The Throne has a border [hadd], which only Allah knows. [In His own words (Almighty and Glorious is He):]
And you shall see the angels circling around the Throne. (39:75)169
It consists of a single ruby [yaquta hamra'], and its size is equal to that of all the heavens and all the earths combined. Next to the Throne, the Footstool [kursi] is like a ring thrown on the ground in a desert tract.
He (Almighty and Glorious is He) knows what is in the seven heavens and what is between them and what is beneath them, and what is in all the earths and what is beneath them and what is between them, and what is beneath the surface of the land, and what is in the depths of the oceans, and the point of growth of every hair and every tree and every seed that grows, and the place where every leaf will fall, and the number of all of these, and the number of all the pebbles and all the grains of sand and all the specks of dust, and the weights of all the mountains, and the measures of all the oceans, and the actions of His servants and their secret thoughts and the breaths they breathe and the words they speak. He knows everything. Nothing of this is hidden from Him.
He is far above any resemblance to His creation. No place is beyond the scope of His cognizance ['ilm]. It is not permissible, however, to describe Him as being in every place. The correct statement to make is that He is in Heaven [fi's-sama'] upon the Throne ['ala'l-'arsh]. As He Himself has said (let us extol Him as befits His Majesty!):
The All-Merciful has established Himself upon the Throne [ar-Rahmanu 'ala'l-'arshi 'stawa]. (20:5)
...then established Himself upon the Throne, the All-Merciful.... [thumma'stawa 'ala'l-'arshi'r-Rahmanu...]. (25:59)
He has also said (Exalted is He):
Unto Him good works ascend, and the righteous deed He does exalt. (35:10)
As for the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), he judged that the Community [Umma] had truly accepted Islam when he said to its members: "Where is Allah?" and they all pointed toward heaven.
The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) once said, according to the tradition [hadith] of Abu Huraira (may Allah be well pleased with him):
When Allah created the creation, He recorded a writ incumbent upon Himself [kataba kitaban 'ala Nafsihi], which is there in His presence above the Throne, [and in it He declared]: "My mercy has overwhelmed My wrath [inna rahmati ghalabat 'ala ghadabi]."
It is proper to use the expression 'firmly established Himself ' in a quite straightforward, literal sense [itlaq], without subjecting it to forced interpretation [ta'wil]. It must also be clearly understood to mean the Self-establishment of the Divine Essence [istiwa' adh-Dhat] upon the Throne, not in the sense of bodily sitting down [qu'ud] and making physical contact [mumassa], as maintained by the [heretical sects known as] the Mujassima and the Karramiyya, not in the abstract sense of exaltedness ['uluww] and elevated dignity [rif'a], as maintained by the Ash'ariyya, and not in the sense of control [istila'] and domination [ghalaba], as maintained by the Mu'tazila. These doctrines are unacceptable because they are not in accordance with the sacred law [shar'], and nothing to support them has been handed down to us on the authority of any of the Companions [sahaba] and Successors [tabi'un], the masters of tradition [ashab al-hadith] among our righteous predecessors [as-salaf as-salih]. On the contrary, all the evidence that has been transmitted from them supports the case for the straightforward, literal expression [itlaq].
On the subject of the words of Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He): "The All-Merciful has established Himself on the Throne [ar-Rahmanu 'ala'l-'arshi 'stawa]," Umm Salama, the wife of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), is reported as having transmitted the saying:
Exactly how–that cannot be grasped by the human mind [al-kaif ghair ma'qul]. But that He has 'established Himself' is not beyond our ken [wa'l-istiwa' ghair majhul], so the affirmation of the fact is obligatory, and the negation of it amounts to unbelief [kufr].
In his Sahih [collection of authentic traditions], Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj has traced the transmission of this saying from her, as his authority for attributing it to [her husband] the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace). A similar version occurs in the tradition [hadith] of Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be well pleased with him).
Ahmad ibn Hanbal (may Allah bestow His mercy upon him) said, shortly before his death: "The traditional reports [akhbar] concerning the attributes [sifat] [of Allah] must simply be accepted as they have been handed down to us, without [erring in one direction by] giving them an anthropomorphic interpretation [tashbih], and without [erring in the other direction by] negating the very existence of those attributes [ta'til].
He also said, according to the account of his teaching transmitted by some of his followers: "I am not a professor of theology [sahib kalam], and I do not see any value in making theological pronouncements on any of these subjects, except for what is stated in the Book of Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He), or in a tradition [hadith] that has been handed down from the Prophet himself (Allah bless him and give him peace), or from his Companions [ashab] (may Allah be well pleased with them all), or from the Successors [tabi'un]. As far as anything other than this is concerned, theological debate on the subject is not to be commended. The attributes of the Lord (Almighty and Glorious is He) should therefore not be spoken about in terms of how and why. The only people who speak in such terms are the doubting skeptics [shukkak]."
It was on a different occasion, according to another account of his teaching, that Ahmad [ibn Hanbal] (may Allah bestow His mercy upon him) said: "We believe that Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) is upon the Throne, however He wills [kaifa sha'a] and just as He wills [kama sha'a], without reference to any definition or description that might be offered by someone attempting to describe or define."
[We believe this] because of what has been reported to us on the authority of Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib, to the effect that Ka'b al-Ahbar once said: "Allah (Exalted is He) has said in the Torah:
I, Allah, am above My servants, and My Throne is above the whole of My creation, and I am upon My Thone, whereon I regulate [the affairs of] My servants, and nothing pertaining to My servants is ever hidden from Me."
Indeed, the fact that He (Almighty and Glorious is He) is upon the Throne is mentioned in every Scripture that has been revealed [fi kulli kitabin unzila] to every Prophet who has been sent forth to deliver His message ['ala kulli nabiyyin ursila], without further explanation [bi-la kaif].
In all the records that are still available to us, Allah (Exalted is He) is also characterized as possessing the attributes of Exaltedness ['uluww] and Omnipotence [qudra], as exercising control [istila'] and domination [ghalaba] over the whole of His creation from the Throne, and so on.
None of this, therefore, can be what is meant by His 'Self-establishment' [istiwa']. Self-establishment must be one of the attributes of the Divine Essence [sifat adh-Dhat], since He has informed us of it, mentioned it explicitly, and stated it emphatically in seven verses [ayat] of His Book, and since this view is confirmed by the Prophetic tradition [sunna ma'thura]. It must be an attribute [sifa] that is intrinsic to Him [lazima lahu] and properly befitting Him [la'iqa bihi], like the Hand [yad], the Face [wajh], the Eye ['ain], the Hearing [sam'], the Sight [basar], the Life [hayat] and the Power [qudra], all of which are properly attributed to Him, as well as His being Creator [Khaliq], Sustainer [Raziq], Giver of Life [Muhyin] and Causer of Death [Mumit].
We do not depart from the Book and the Sunna. We read the Qur'anic verse [aya] and the traditional report [khabar]. We believe what these two sources contain, and we entrust the detailed understanding [kaifiyya] of the [divine] attributes to the knowledge ['ilm] of Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He). As Sufyan ibn 'Uyaina (may Allah bestow His mercy upon him) once put it: "Just as Allah (Exalted is He) has described Himself in His Book." In other words, the reading of it is self-explanatory, and there is no need of further interpretative commentary [tafsir]. This is all that is required of us, because the rest is a mystery [ghaib], the comprehension of which is beyond the scope of the human mind ['aql].
We beg Allah (Exalted is He) to grant pardon ['afw] and well-being ['afiya], and we take refuge with Him in case we should say anything about Him or His attributes that we have not been taught by Him or by His Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace).
[The believer must also acknowledge and be thoroughly convinced] that He (Exalted is He) descends each night to the heaven of this lower world [sama' ad-dunya], however He wills and just as He wills, and that He then forgives those who have sinned, erred, offended and disobeyed; those of His servants, that is to say, whom He chooses and wishes to forgive. Hallowed and Exalted is the All-High, the Most High [tabaraka wa ta'ala'l-'Aliyyu'l-A'la].
There is no god but He [la ilaha illa Hu]. His are the Most Beautiful Names [lahu'l-asma'u'l-husna]. (20:8)
This is not to be understood as meaning the descent of [Allah's] mercy [nuzul ar-rahma] and His spiritual reward [thawab], as maintained by the Mu'tazila and the Ash'ariyya, because we know from the report transmitted by 'Ubada ibn as-Samit (may Allah be well pleased with him) that Allah's Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) once said:
Allah (Hallowed and Exalted is He) descends each night to the heaven of this lower world, when the last third of the night is still remaining, and He says: "Is there anyone begging?" --so that He may grant him his request. "Is there anyone seeking forgiveness?" --so that He may forgive him. "Is there anyone held captive ['anin]?"--so that He may release him from his captivity. [This continues] until it is time for the dawn prayer to be performed, then our Lord (Hallowed and Exalted is He) ascends on high.
According to another traditional report [riwaya], also on the authority of 'Ubada ibn as-Samit (may Allah be well pleased with him), the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said:
Allah (Hallowed and Exalted is He) descends each night to the heaven of this lower world, when the last third of the night is still remaining, and He says: "Is there not one of My servants who will call upon Me, so that I may respond to him? Is there not someone, a person who has wronged himself [zalim li-nafsih], who will call upon Me, so that I may forgive him? Is there not someone, a person who lacks the sustenance he needs, who will call upon Me, so that I may procure his sustenance for him? Is there not some victim of oppression [mazlum], who will invoke My name, so that I may help him? Is there not someone held in captivity, who will call upon Me, so that I may release him?" He goes on like this until the dawn appears, and then He ascends to His Pedestal [kursi].
This same tradition [hadith] has been transmitted, with some differences in the wording, on the authority of Abu Huraira, Jabir and 'Ali (may Allah be well pleased with them all). Versions of it have also been handed down from 'Abdu'llah ibn Mas'ud, Abu'd-Darda', Ibn 'Abbas and 'A'isha (may the good pleasure of Allah be upon them), all of whom attribute the saying to Allah's Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace). This explains why they used to regard it as preferable to perform the ritual prayer [salat] in the last part of the night, rather than in the first part of it.
As reported by Abu Bakr, the Champion of Truth [as-Siddiq] (may Allah be well pleased with him), the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) also said:
Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) descends to the heaven of this lower world on the night of the middle of Sha'ban, and He then forgives every soul, excepting only the individual in whose heart there is malice [shahna'], or the attribution of partners [shirk] to Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He).
Abu Huraira (may Allah be well pleased with him) is reported as having said that he once heard Allah's Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) say:
When the first half of the night has elapsed, Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) descends to the heaven of this lower world, and then He says: "Is there anyone seeking forgiveness, that I may forgive him? Is there anyone begging, that I may give to him? Is there anyone repenting, that I may relent toward him?" [This continues] until the early dawn [fajr] begins to break.
Somebody once said to Ishaq ibn Rahawaih: "What are these traditions [ahadith] you are relating, to the effect that Allah (Exalted is He) descends to the lowest heaven? Does Allah then rise up again? Does He move about?" Ishaq replied by asking the questioner: "Would you say of Allah (Exalted is He) that it is possible for Allah to descend and to ascend, and to do so without moving about?" When the man gave the answer "Yes," Ishaq went on to ask: "So why do you have a problem with this?"
Yahya ibn Mu'in once said: "If a Jahmi asks you: 'How does He descend?' you should reply by asking: 'How did He ascend?'" As for al-Fudail ibn 'Iyad (may Allah bestow His mercy upon him), he offered this advice: "If a Jahmi tells you: 'I am a disbeliever [kafir] in a Lord who is supposed to descend,' you should say to him: 'I am a believer [mu'min] in a Lord who does whatever He wills.'"
When somebody once told Shuraik ibn 'Abdi'llah (may Allah bestow His mercy upon him): "We have here a group of people who refuse to accept these traditions [ahadith]," he is said to have replied: "Has anyone handed down to us [reports transmitted by] names that cannot be traced back to Allah's Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace)? [It is from these traditions that we have learned the rules of] the ritual prayer [salat], the fast [siyam], the alms-due [zakat] and the pilgrimage [hajj], and through these traditions we have acquired knowledge ['arafna] of Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He)."
