Chapter 6: The “Throne” Of Allah.
The “Throne” (Arsh) And The “Chair” (Kursiyy) As Viewed By The School Of The Caliphs
Naturally, according to the School of the Caliphs, Allah must have an abode! When they have imagined Him as a person having a form, and limbs, then they ought to find Him a place which will accommodate the body. So, we find the leader of the anthropomorphists, Muhammad bin Uthman Darami (died 280 Hijra) writing in his book Al-Radd ala al-Jahmiyyah that:“Surely Allah has a recognized and defined Throne above the seventh heaven, carried by the angels. Allah, as He has described Himself, does not compare with His creation.”Then he proceeds in thirteenth chapter of the same book under the title:“The Firm establishment of the Lord, Most High, on the Throne, His Elevation to the Heavens and His being different from the creation.”Similarly, Ibn Khuzaimah has a chapter in his book of Tawhid, entitled:“The Firm Establishment of our Creator, the Most High, the Efficacious, on his Throne, and being above it and above all.”In an intriguing argument by Darami, we find him vehemently refuting those who believe that Allah is present everywhere. He quotes a tradition from the Prophet (S):“Semen remains in a womb for forty nights, and then an angel responsible for human souls ascends with it to the Lord and asks: ‘O God! Is this servant of Yours destined to be a man or a woman ....?’”Then Darami says:“If the truth was as you believe, then Allah would be present in the womb together with the semen. If so, what was the need for an angel to rise above with the semen?”Further, he adds:“Allah exists and lives separately from His creation. Why should He find an abode for Himself at dirty places, in the entrails of human beings, birds and animals? Why should every nook and corner contain Him?”Darami, Ibn Khuzaimah and other scholars from the School of the Caliphs substantiate their beliefs about the actual “Throne” or “Chair” of Allah from numerous verses of the Qur’an and the traditions. Here are some examples:
“Arsh” And “Kursiyy” As Understood By The School Of The Caliphs
Bukhari, Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah, Ahmad Hanbal, Tabari, Ibn Kathir and Suyuti have recorded the following in their major works:“The Prophet (S) was asked: ‘Where was Allah stationed before He created the universe?’He answered: ‘He was among the dark, heavy clouds - with no wind under it, nor above. And there was no other creation. His ‘Throne’ was over the water’.”These scholars have interpreted the following verse:“And His Throne was over the water ....” (Surah Hud, 11:7).as a material throne stationed over the water. In further elucidation, they proceed to quote the following obnoxious tradition:The Prophet (S) said:“The distance between the earth and the heaven is seventy-one, seventy-two or seventy-three years. And same is the distance between the second and the third heavens, till the seventh. And over the seventh heaven is an ocean whose depth is the measure of distance between the two heavens. Over the ocean are eight mountain goats, their hooves and knees are as wide apart as the distance between the two heavens. Upon their backs is the huge Throne of Allah (Arsh) whose height equals the distance between the two heavens. There, upon it is seated Allah, the Blessed, the Most High.”1
The Clattering “Throne”
Read the following narration from Ibn Khuzaimah, Abu Dawood, Ibn Atheer and Aaloosi and smile!The report says that once the Prophet (S) joined his fingers to form a shape of the cupola and said:“The ‘Throne’ (Arsh) of Allah, above the heavens is like this. And it rattles and clatters like the rattling of the saddle of a camel when one rides on it.”Abu Dawood in his Sunan, reports from Ibn Basshar, the following tradition:“Allah is seated on His ‘Throne’ (Arsh) and the ‘Throne’ is over the heavens. And the ‘Throne’ rattles under Him, the way a camel saddle rattles when one rides.”Tabari, Ibn Kathir and Suyuti report the following in their Tafsirs from Caliph ‘Umar: A woman once came to the Prophet (S) and implored:“Pray that I may be among those who enter the Paradise.”The Prophet (S) exalted the name of Allah and then said:“The ‘Chair’ of Allah is as extensive as the heavens and the earth; and it clatters under the weight like a new saddle under the weight of man. And He exceeds the ‘Chair’ from all sides by four fingers!!”Well, here is Allah, so obese that He does not fit in His “Chair” - may Allah save us from such vexatious beliefs. Now let us examine its source.
Ka’b Al-Ahbar’s Narration
He says:“Allah created the seven heavens, and also the earth like them; and then distanced the heavens from each other, the same measure as that between the earth and the heaven of this world, and made them dense. Then He raised His ‘Throne’ (Arsh) over them and stationed Himself upon it. So every heaven among the heavens rattles and clatters due to the weight of Almighty Allah, the same way as a new saddle of a camel rattles when a rider sits on it for the first time.”This is the source. It was Ka‘b al-Ahbar, the former rabbi, who introduced this nonsense into the bulk of Islamic traditions and ascribe it falsely to the Prophet (S).
What Is “Kursiyy” And Who Are The Porters?
In his commentary, Maqatil discusses the following verse from the Qur’an:“His ‘Throne’ extends over the heavens and the earth....” (Surah al-Baqarah, 2:255).He says:“The ‘Throne’ (or the ‘Chair’) is carried by four angels:One has a human face, and he prays for sustenance for human kind.The second one has an animal’s face, like that of a bull. He seeks from Allah sustenance for the animals.The third angel looks like an eagle, representing the birds. He prays for the birds.The fourth one is like a lion, representing the wild animals and he prays for their sustenance.”2The reports from the School of the Caliphs are fraught with such stories. More of it when we will discuss their beliefs about the bodily presence of Allah on the Day of Judgement.Ibn Khuzaimah in his book on Tawhid has quoted the following verses to prove that Allah Himself has revealed to us His abode!“Allah, Most Gracious, is firmly established on the ‘Throne’....” (Surah Taha, 20:5).“Then He firmly stationed Himself on the ‘Throne’....” (Surah al- Furqan, 25:59).“And He it is Who created the heavens and the earth in six days and His ‘Throne’ was over the water ....” (Surah Hud, 11:7).Ibn Khuzaimah believes that these verses refer to a piece of furniture Allah uses as His seat! And he is not alone. Many scholars have followed his wake, forgetting that the terms have been used metaphorically to convey kingdom and authority.
The School Of Ahl Ul-Bayt (‘A)
Imam Ja‘far Al-Sadiq (‘a) was asked about the following verse:“His ‘Kursiyy’ extends over the heavens and the earth.” (Surah al-Baqarah, 2:255).He said:“‘Kursiyy’ denotes His knowledge and the verse means: ‘His knowledge encompasses the heavens and the earth’.”In another tradition from Imam Ja‘far Al-Sadiq (‘a), we find the following words:“The heavens and the earth are all in His ‘Kursiyy’,3i.e., knowledge.”Another man came to Imam Ja‘far Al-Sadiq (‘a), asking for the interpretation of “the ‘Arsh’ over the water.”Imam (‘a) asked:“What do they say?”The man said:“They say that Allah’s Throne is over the water, and He is seated over it.”Imam (‘a) said:“That indeed is a lie! Whoever believes that Allah is contained and carried, compares Him to the creatures! And that which supports or carries must he stronger than Him!”The man was confounded into silence for a while and then asked:“May I be your ransom! Let me learn from you the true meaning.”Imam (‘a) said:“In various verses of the Qur’an, the word ‘Arsh’ has come in diverse contexts. The meaning in each case is either ‘the kingdom,’ ‘the authority,’ or ‘the knowledge’.”Allah says:“The Lord of Supreme ‘Arsh’.” (Surah al-Taubah, 9:129).Here the grandeur of Allah is represented in ‘Arsh’ which is His Kingdom.In another verse:“Allah, the Gracious compassed the ‘Arsh’.” (Surah Taha, 20:5).The meaning is that His Authority overwhelms His Kingdom.And when Allah says:“His ‘Arsh’ was over the water, He means that water was created before the heavens and the earth, and it was the first creation to submit to Allah.”Actually, Ibn Khuzaimah and his likes have been misled by the word Istawaa which has appeared in the Qur’an together with the ‘Arsh.’ They have construed it literally as “seated” or “stationed.” In the Qur’an, we find six verses where the word has been used. Raghib Isfahani says in his commentary:“Whenever the verb Istawaa is converted into transitive form with ‘Ala,’ it means Isteela - control, appropriation, conquest, power; like in the verse: “God, the Most Gracious, has a total control over the ‘Arsh’.”Similarly, we find the word used in Arabic literature with the same connotation. A poet eulogizes Bushr bin Marwan, the brother of the Umayyad Caliph Abdul Malik in the following couplet:“Bushr has conquered Iraq without wielding a sword or spilling any blood ....” (Qad Istawaa Alal Iraqi.. .. )Another word which has paused a problem, for the anthropomorphic school of the Caliphs, is Kursiyy. They have taken it literally meaning, a stool or a chair. Tabari in his Tafsir says that Kursiyy means knowledge also, and it is for this reason that the books of knowledge are called Kurrasah, and the learned-men are called Kurasiyy. The Holy Qur’an has substituted the word Kursiyy with Ilm in several verses which speak in the same vein. For examples:“My Lord encompasses all things in His knowledge.” (Surah al-Anam, 6:80).“Our Lord encompasses all things by His knowledge.” (Surah al-Aaraf, 7:89).“Our Lord! You encompass all things in Mercy and knowledge.” (Surah Al-Ghafir, 40:7).“But the God of you all, is the One God, there is no god but He, all things He encompasses in His knowledge.” (Surah Taha, 20:98).In the foregoing verse, the verb Wasea is used with Ilm. Even in the sole verse where Kursiyy has been used, it is interesting to note that the preceding part of the verse speaks of Allah’s comprehensive and encompassing knowledge. Let us examine the verse as it begins:“He knows what is before, after and behind them - nor shall they encompass anything of His knowledge except as He wishes. His Kursiyy (knowledge) extends over the heavens and the earth...” (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:225).
The Summary
According to the school of Ahl ul-Bayt (‘a), therefore, Arsh and Kursiyy denote kingdom, authority and knowledge.The use of the words is metaphoric. This is in sharp contrast to what the opposite school was led to believe because of Jewish influence.