Tarikh (al-Tabari) 27
Creation of the Throne, the Footstool, and the Preserved Tablet
فِيمَا وَرَدَ فِي صِفَةِ خَلْقِ الْعَرْشِ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: رَفِيعُ الدَّرَجَاتِ ذُو الْعَرْشِ [ غَافِرٍ: 15 ]. وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: فَتَعَالَى اللَّهُ الْمَلِكُ الْحَقُّ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ رَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْكَرِيمِ [ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ: 116 ]. وَقَالَ اللَّهُ: لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ رَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ [ النَّمْلِ: 26 ]. وَقَالَ: وَهُوَ الْغَفُورُ الْوَدُودُ ذُو الْعَرْشِ الْمَجِيدُ [ الْبُرُوجِ: 14 ]. وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: الرَّحْمَنُ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَى [ طه: 5 ]. وَقَالَ: ثُمَّ اسْتَوَى عَلَى الْعَرْشِ [ الْأَعْرَافِ: 54 ]. فِي غَيْرِ مَا آيَةٍ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: الَّذِينَ يَحْمِلُونَ الْعَرْشَ وَمَنْ حَوْلَهُ يُسَبِّحُونَ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّهِمْ وَيُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ وَيَسْتَغْفِرُونَ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا رَبَّنَا وَسِعْتَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ رَحْمَةً وَعِلْمًا [ غَافِرٍ: 7 ]. وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: وَيَحْمِلُ عَرْشَ رَبِّكَ فَوْقَهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ ثَمَانِيَةٌ [ الْحَاقَّةِ: 17 ]. وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: وَتَرَى الْمَلَائِكَةَ حَافِّينَ مِنْ حَوْلِ الْعَرْشِ يُسَبِّحُونَ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّهِمْ وَقُضِيَ بَيْنَهُمْ بِالْحَقِّ وَقِيلَ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ [ الزُّمَرِ: 75 ]. وَفِي الدُّعَاءِ الْمَرْوِيِّ فِي الصَّحِيحِ فِي دُعَاءِ الْكَرْبِ : لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ الْعَظِيمُ الْحَلِيمُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ رَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ رَبُّ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَرَبُّ الْأَرْضِ رَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْكَرِيمِ. وَقَالَ الْإِمَامُ أَحْمَدُ بسنده عَنْ عَبَّاسِ بْنِ عَبْدِ الْمُطَّلِبِ، قَالَ: كُنَّا جُلُوسًا مَعَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ بِالْبَطْحَاءِ فَمَرَّتْ سَحَابَةٌ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ: أَتُدْرُونَ مَا هَذَا قَالَ قُلْنَا: السَّحَابُ قَالَ: وَالْمُزْنُ قَالَ: قُلْنَا: وَالْمُزْنُ قَالَ: وَالْعَنَانُ قَالَ: فَسَكَتْنَا فَقَالَ: هَلْ تَدْرُونَ كَمْ بَيْنَ السَّمَاءِ وَالْأَرْضِ ؟ قَالَ: قُلْنَا: اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَعْلَمُ قَالَ: بَيْنَهُمَا مَسِيرَةُ خَمْسِمِائَةِ سَنَةٍ، وَمِنْ كُلِّ سَمَاءٍ إِلَى سَمَاءٍ مَسِيرَةُ خَمْسِمِائَةِ سَنَةٍ وَكِثَفُ كُلِّ سَمَاءٍ مَسِيرَةُ خَمْسِمِائَةِ سَنَةٍ وَفَوْقَ السَّمَاءِ السَّابِعَةِ بَحْرٌ بَيْنَ أَسْفَلِهِ وَأَعْلَاهُ كَمَا بَيْنَ السَّمَاءِ وَالْأَرْضِ، ثُمَّ فَوْقَ ذَلِكَ ثَمَانِيَةُ أَوْعَالٍ بَيْنَ رُكَبِهِنَّ وَأَظْلَافِهِنَّ كَمَا بَيْنَ السَّمَاءِ وَالْأَرْضِ، ثُمَّ فَوْقَ ذَلِكَ الْعَرْشُ بَيْنَ أَسْفَلِهِ وَأَعْلَاهُ كَمَا بَيْنَ السَّمَاءِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَاللَّهُ فَوْقَ ذَلِكَ، وَلَيْسَ يَخْفَى عَلَيْهِ مِنْ أَعْمَالِ بَنِي آدَمَ شَيْءٌ. وَرَوَى شَرِيكٌ بَعْضَ هَذَا الْحَدِيثِ عَنْ سِمَاكٍ وَوَقَفَهُ. وَلَفْظُ أَبِي دَاوُدَ: وَهَلْ تَدْرُونَ بُعْدَ مَا بَيْنَ السَّمَاءِ وَالْأَرْضِ ؟ قَالُوا: لَا نَدْرِي. قَالَ: بُعْدُ مَا بَيْنَهُمَا إِمَّا وَاحِدَةٌ أَوِ اثْنَتَانِ أَوِ ثَلَاثَةٌ وَسَبْعُونَ سَنَةً. وَالْبَاقِي نَحْوُهُ. وَقَالَ أَبُو دَاوُدَ: بسنده عَنْ جُبَيْرِ بْنِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ جُبَيْرِ بْنِ مُطْعِمٍ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ جَدِّهِ قَالَ: أَتَى رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ أَعْرَابِيٌّ فَقَالَ: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ جَهَدَتِ الْأَنْفُسُ، وَجَاعَتِ الْعِيَالُ، وَنَهَكَتِ الْأَمْوَالُ، وَهَلَكَتِ الْأَنْعَامُ، فَاسْتَسْقِ اللَّهَ لَنَا، فَإِنَّا نَسْتَشْفِعُ بِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ، وَنَسْتَشْفِعُ بِاللَّهِ عَلَيْكَ، فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ: وَيْحَكَ أَتَدْرِي مَا تَقُولُ ؟ ! وَسَبَّحَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ، فَمَا زَالَ يُسَبِّحُ حَتَّى عُرِفَ ذَلِكَ فِي وُجُوهِ أَصْحَابِهِ، ثُمَّ قَالَ وَيْحَكَ إِنَّهُ لَا يُسْتَشْفَعُ بِاللَّهِ عَلَى أَحَدٍ مِنْ خَلْقِهِ، شَأْنُ اللَّهِ أَعْظَمُ مِنْ ذَلِكَ، وَيْحَكَ أَتَدْرِي مَا اللَّهُ ؟ إِنَّ عَرْشَهُ عَلَى سَمَاوَاتِهِ لَهَكَذَا وَقَالَ بِأَصَابِعِهِ مِثْلَ الْقُبَّةِ عَلَيْهِ وَإِنَّهُ لَيَئِطُّ بِهِ أَطِيطَ الرَّحْلِ بِالرَّاكِبِ. قَالَ ابْنُ بَشَّارٍ فِي حَدِيثِهِ: " إِنَّ اللَّهَ فَوْقَ عَرْشِهِ وَعَرْشُهُ فَوْقَ سَمَاوَاتِهِ ". وَثَبَتَ فِي صَحِيحِ الْبُخَارِيِّ، عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ أَنَّهُ قَالَ: إِذَا سَأَلْتُمُ اللَّهَ الْجَنَّةَ فَاسْأَلُوهُ الْفِرْدَوْسَ ; فَإِنَّهُ أَعْلَى الْجَنَّةِ وَأَوْسَطُ الْجَنَّةِ، وَفَوْقَهُ عَرْشُ الرَّحْمَنِ. يُرْوَى: وَفَوْقَهُ بِالْفَتْحِ عَلَى الظَّرْفِيَّةِ، وَبِالضَّمِّ قَالَ شَيْخُنَا الْحَافِظُ الْمِزِّيُّ: وَهُوَ أَحْسَنُ. أَيْ: وَأَعْلَاهَا عَرْشُ الرَّحْمَنِ، وَقَدْ جَاءَ فِي بَعْضِ الْآثَارِ: أَنَّ أَهْلَ الْفِرْدَوْسِ يَسْمَعُونَ أَطِيطَ الْعَرْشِ، وَهُوَ تَسْبِيحُهُ وَتَعْظِيمُهُ، وَمَا ذَاكَ إِلَّا لِقُرْبِهِمْ مِنْهُ، وَفِي الصَّحِيحِ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ قَالَ: لَقَدِ اهْتَزَّ عَرْشُ الرَّحْمَنِ لِمَوْتِ سَعْدِ بْنِ مُعَاذٍ. وَذَكَرَ الْحَافِظُ ابْنُ الْحَافِظِ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عُثْمَانَ بْنِ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ فِي كِتَابِ صِفَةِ الْعَرْشِ عَنْ بَعْضِ السَّلَفِ: أَنَّ الْعَرْشَ مَخْلُوقٌ مِنْ يَاقُوتَةٍ حَمْرَاءَ، بُعْدُ مَا بَيْنَ قُطْرَيْهِ مَسِيرَةُ خَمْسِينَ أَلْفَ سَنَةٍ. وَذَكَرْنَا عِنْدَ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: تَعْرُجُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ وَالرُّوحُ إِلَيْهِ فِي يَوْمٍ كَانَ مِقْدَارُهُ خَمْسِينَ أَلْفَ سَنَةٍ [ الْمَعَارِجِ: 4 ]. أَنَّهُ بُعْدُ مَا بَيْنَ الْعَرْشِ إِلَى الْأَرْضِ السَّابِعَةِ مَسِيرَةُ خَمْسِينَ أَلْفَ سَنَةٍ، وَأَنَّ اتِّسَاعَهُ خَمْسُونَ أَلْفَ سَنَةٍ. وَقَدْ ذَهَبَ طَائِفَةٌ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكَلَامِ إِلَى أَنَّ الْعَرْشَ فَلَكٌ مُسْتَدِيرٌ مِنْ جَمِيعِ جَوَانِبِهِ مُحِيطٌ بِالْعَالَمِ مِنْ كُلِّ جِهَةٍ، وَرُبَّمَا سَمَّوْهُ الْفَلَكَ التَّاسِعَ وَالْفَلَكَ الْأَطْلَسَ وَالْأَثِيرَ. وَهَذَا لَيْسَ بِجَيِّدٍ لِأَنَّهُ قَدْ ثَبَتَ فِي الشَّرْعِ أَنَّ لَهُ قَوَائِمَ تَحْمِلُهُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ، وَالْفَلَكُ لَا يَكُونُ لَهُ قَوَائِمُ وَلَا يُحْمَلُ، وَأَيْضًا فَإِنَّهُ فَوْقَ الْجَنَّةِ، وَالْجَنَّةُ فَوْقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ، وَفِيهَا مِائَةُ دَرَجَةٍ مَا بَيْنَ كُلِّ دَرَجَتَيْنِ كَمَا بَيْنَ السَّمَاءِ وَالْأَرْضِ فَالْبُعْدُ الَّذِي بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ الْكُرْسِيِّ لَيْسَ هُوَ نِسْبَةُ فَلَكٍ إِلَى فَلَكٍ، وَأَيْضًا فَإِنَّ الْعَرْشَ فِي اللُّغَةِ عِبَارَةٌ عَنِ السَّرِيرِ الَّذِي لِلْمَلِكِ كَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى: وَلَهَا عَرْشٌ عَظِيمٌ [ النَّمْلِ: 23 ]. وَلَيْسَ هُوَ فَلَكًا، وَلَا تَفْهَمُ مِنْهُ الْعَرَبُ ذَلِكَ، وَالْقُرْآنُ إِنَّمَا نَزَلَ بِلُغَةِ الْعَرَبِ فَهُوَ سَرِيرٌ ذُو قَوَائِمَ تَحْمِلُهُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ، وَهُوَ كَالْقُبَّةِ عَلَى الْعَالَمِ وَهُوَ سَقْفُ الْمَخْلُوقَاتِ. قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: الَّذِينَ يَحْمِلُونَ الْعَرْشَ وَمَنْ حَوْلَهُ يُسَبِّحُونَ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّهِمْ وَيُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ وَيَسْتَغْفِرُونَ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا [ غَافِرٍ: 7 ]. وَقَدْ تَقَدَّمَ فِي حَدِيثِ الْأَوْعَالِ أَنَّهُمْ ثَمَانِيَةٌ، وَفَوْقَ ظُهُورِهِنَّ الْعَرْشُ، وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: وَيَحْمِلُ عَرْشَ رَبِّكَ فَوْقَهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ ثَمَانِيَةٌ [ الْحَاقَّةِ: 17 ]. وَقَالَ شَهْرُ بْنُ حَوْشَبٍ: حَمَلَةُ الْعَرْشِ ثَمَانِيَةٌ : أَرْبَعَةٌ مِنْهُمْ يَقُولُونَ سُبْحَانَكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَبِحَمْدِكَ، لَكَ الْحَمْدُ عَلَى حِلْمِكَ بَعْدَ عِلْمِكَ، وَأَرْبَعَةٌ يَقُولُونَ سُبْحَانَكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَبِحَمْدِكَ، لَكَ الْحَمْدُ عَلَى عَفْوِكَ بَعْدَ قُدْرَتِكَ. فَأَمَّا الْحَدِيثُ الَّذِي رَوَاهُ الْإِمَامُ أَحْمَدُ بسنده عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ: أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ صَدَّقَ أُمَيَّةَ بْنَ أَبِي الصَّلْتِ فِي شَيْءٍ مِنْ شِعْرِهِ فَقَالَ: رُجُلٌ وَثَوْرٌ تَحْتَ رِجْلِ يَمِينِهِ وَالنِّسْرُ لِلْأُخْرَى وَلَيْثٌ مُرْصَدُ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ: صَدَقَ فَقَالَ: وَالشَّمْسُ تَطْلُعُ كُلَّ آخِرِ لَيْلَةٍ حَمْرَاءَ يُصْبِحُ لَوْنُهَا يَتَوَرَّدُ لَيْسَتْ بِطَالِعَةٍ لَهُمْ فِي رِسْلِهَا إِلَّا مُعَذَّبَةً وَإِلَّا تُجْلَدُ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ: صَدَقَ. فَإِنَّهُ حَدِيثٌ صَحِيحُ الْإِسْنَادِ رِجَالُهُ ثِقَاتٌ، وَهُوَ يَقْتَضِي أَنَّ حَمَلَةَ الْعَرْشِ الْيَوْمَ أَرْبَعَةٌ، فَيُعَارِضُهُ حَدِيثُ الْأَوْعَالِ اللَّهُمَّ إِلَّا أَنْ يُقَالَ: إِنَّ إِثْبَاتَ هَؤُلَاءِ الْأَرْبَعَةِ عَلَى هَذِهِ الصِّفَاتِ لَا يَنْفِي مَا عَدَاهُمْ، وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ. شعر أمية بن أبي الصلت في العرش وَمِنْ شِعْرِ أُمَيَّةَ بْنِ أَبِي الصَّلْتِ فِي الْعَرْشِ قَوْلُهُ: مَجِّدُوا اللَّهَ فَهُوَ لِلْمَجْدِ أَهْلٌ رَبُّنَا فِي السَّمَاءِ أَمْسَى كَبِيرَا بِالْبِنَاءِ الْعَالِي الَّذِي بَهَرَ النَّاسَ وَسَوَّى فَوْقَ السَّمَاءِ سَرِيرَا شَرْجَعًا لَا يَنَالُهُ بَصَرُ الْعَيْنِ تَرَى حَوْلَهُ الْمَلَائِكُ صُورَا صُورٌ جَمْعُ أَصْوَرَ، وَهُوَ الْمَائِلُ الْعُنُقِ لِنَظَرِهِ إِلَى الْعُلُوِّ، وَالشَّرْجَعُ هُوَ الْعَالِي الْمُنِيفُ، وَالسَّرِيرُ هُوَ الْعَرْشُ فِي اللُّغَةِ، وَمِنْ شِعْرِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ رَوَاحَةَ ؓ الَّذِي عَرَّضَ بِهِ عَنِ الْقِرَاءَةِ لِامْرَأَتِهِ حِينَ اتَّهَمَتْهُ بِجَارِيَتِهِ: شَهِدْتُ بِأَنَّ وَعْدَ اللَّهِ حَقٌّ وَأَنَّ النَّارَ مَثْوَى الْكَافِرِينَا وَأَنَّ الْعَرْشَ فَوْقَ الْمَاءِ طَافٍ وَفَوْقَ الْعَرْشِ رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَا وَتَحْمِلُهُ مَلَائِكَةٌ كِرَامٌ مَلَائِكَةُ الْإِلَهِ مُسَوِّمِينَا ذَكَرَهُ ابْنُ عَبْدِ الْبَرِّ، وَغَيْرُ وَاحِدٍ مِنَ الْأَئِمَّةِ، وَقَالَ أَبُو دَاوُدَ بسنده، عَنْ جَابِرِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ ﷺ قَالَ: أُذِنَ لِي أَنْ أُحَدِّثَ عَنْ مَلَكٍ مِنْ مَلَائِكَةِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ مِنْ حَمَلَةِ الْعَرْشِ أَنَّ مَا بَيْنَ شَحْمَةِ أُذُنِهِ إِلَى عَاتِقِهِ مَسِيرَةُ سَبْعِمِائَةِ عَامٍ. وَرَوَاهُ ابْنُ أَبِي حَاتِمٍ، وَلَفْظُهُ مَخْفِقُ الطَّيْرِ سَبْعُمِائَةِ عَامٍ.
Translation
✧ On what has been related concerning the description of the creation of the Throne Allah, Exalted is He, said: Exalter of ranks, Possessor of the Throne [Ghāfir: 15]. And He, Exalted is He, said: So exalted is Allah, the True King—there is no god but He—Lord of the Noble Throne [al-Muʾminūn: 116]. And Allah said: There is no god but He, Lord of the Great Throne [al-Naml: 26]. And He said: And He is the Forgiving, the Loving, Owner of the Glorious Throne [al-Burūj: 14]. And He, Exalted is He, said: The Most Merciful rose over the Throne [Ṭā Hā: 5]. And He said: Then He rose over the Throne [al-Aʿrāf: 54], among other verses of the Qurʾān. And He, Exalted is He, said: Those who bear the Throne and those around it proclaim the praise of their Lord and believe in Him and ask forgiveness for those who believe: "Our Lord, You encompass all things in mercy and knowledge" [Ghāfir: 7]. And He, Exalted is He, said: And eight will bear the Throne of your Lord above them that Day [al-Ḥāqqah: 17]. And He, Exalted is He, said: And you will see the angels surrounding the Throne, proclaiming the praise of their Lord, and judgment will be made among them in truth, and it will be said: "Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds" [al-Zumar: 75]. And in the duʿāʾ narrated in the Ṣaḥīḥ in the supplication of distress: There is no god but Allah, the Great, the Forbearing; there is no god but Allah, Lord of the Great Throne; there is no god but Allah, Lord of the heavens and Lord of the earth, Lord of the Noble Throne. And Imām Aḥmad said with his chain from ʿAbbās b. ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, who said: We were sitting with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ at al-Baṭḥāʾ when a cloud passed by. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Do you know what this is?" He said: We said: "The cloud." He said: "And the rain-cloud?" He said: We said: "And the rain-cloud." He said: "And the high cloud?" He said: We fell silent. Then he said: "Do you know how far it is between the heaven and the earth?" He said: We said: "Allah and His Messenger know best." He said: "Between them is a distance of five hundred years' journey, and from each heaven to the next is a distance of five hundred years' journey, and the thickness of each heaven is a distance of five hundred years' journey. And above the seventh heaven is a sea between its lowest and highest parts like the distance between heaven and earth. Then above that are eight mountain goats, between their knees and their hooves like the distance between heaven and earth. Then above that is the Throne, between its lowest and highest parts like the distance between heaven and earth, and Allah is above that, and nothing of the deeds of the children of Adam is hidden from Him." Sharīk narrated part of this ḥadīth from Simāk and stopped it as a statement of ʿAbbās. The wording of Abū Dāwūd is: "And do you know the distance between heaven and earth?" They said: "We do not know." He said: "The distance between them is either one or two or seventy-three years." The rest is similar. And Abū Dāwūd said with his chain from Jubayr b. Muḥammad b. Jubayr b. Muṭʿim, from his father, from his grandfather, who said: A Bedouin came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said: "O Messenger of Allah, the souls are exhausted, the families are hungry, the wealth is destroyed, and the livestock have perished. So ask Allah for rain for us, for we seek intercession through you with Allah, and we seek intercession through Allah with you." The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Woe to you! Do you know what you are saying?!" And the Messenger of Allah ﷺ glorified Allah, and he kept glorifying until that was evident in the faces of his companions. Then he said: "Woe to you! Allah is not sought as an intercessor with anyone of His creation; the matter of Allah is greater than that. Woe to you! Do you know who Allah is? Indeed, His Throne is above His heavens like this," and he indicated with his fingers like a dome over it, "and it creaks with Him like the creaking of a saddle with its rider." Ibn Bashshār said in his ḥadīth: "Indeed, Allah is above His Throne, and His Throne is above His heavens." And it is established in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that he said: "When you ask Allah for Paradise, ask Him for al-Firdaws, for it is the highest part of Paradise and the middle of Paradise, and above it is the Throne of the Most Merciful." It is narrated: "above it" with fatḥah on the ẓarfiyyah, and with ḍammah—our shaykh al-Ḥāfiẓ al-Mizzī said that the latter is better, meaning "and its highest part is the Throne of the Most Merciful." It has come in some reports that the people of al-Firdaws hear the creaking of the Throne, which is its glorification and magnification, and that is only because of their nearness to it. And in the Ṣaḥīḥ it is established that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "The Throne of the Most Merciful shook at the death of Saʿd b. Muʿādh." Al-Ḥāfiẓ b. al-Ḥāfiẓ Muḥammad b. ʿUthmān b. Abī Shaybah mentioned in the book Ṣifat al-ʿArsh from some of the early scholars that the Throne is created from a red ruby, and the distance between its two sides is a journey of fifty thousand years. We mentioned at His saying, Exalted is He: The angels and the Spirit ascend to Him in a day whose measure is fifty thousand years [al-Maʿārij: 4], that the distance between the Throne and the seventh earth is a journey of fifty thousand years, and that its width is fifty thousand years. A group of the people of kalām went to the view that the Throne is a circular celestial sphere on all its sides, encompassing the world from every direction, and they sometimes called it the ninth sphere, the outermost sphere, and the ether. This is not good, because it is established in the sacred law that it has legs carried by angels, and a sphere does not have legs nor is it carried. Also, it is above Paradise, and Paradise is above the heavens, and in it there are one hundred degrees, between each two degrees like the distance between heaven and earth, so the distance between it and the Footstool is not the relation of one sphere to another. Also, the word ʿarsh in the language denotes the throne of a king, as He said, Exalted is He: And she has a great throne [al-Naml: 23], and it is not a sphere, and the Arabs do not understand it as such. The Qurʾān was revealed in the language of the Arabs, so it is a throne with legs carried by angels, and it is like a dome over the world, and it is the roof of creation. Allah, Exalted is He, said: Those who bear the Throne and those around it proclaim the praise of their Lord and believe in Him and ask forgiveness for those who believe [Ghāfir: 7]. It has preceded in the ḥadīth of the mountain goats that they are eight, and above their backs is the Throne. And He, Exalted is He, said: And eight will bear the Throne of your Lord above them that Day [al-Ḥāqqah: 17]. Shahr b. Ḥawshab said: The bearers of the Throne are eight: four of them say: "Glory be to You, O Allah, and with Your praise; to You belongs praise for Your forbearance after Your knowledge," and four say: "Glory be to You, O Allah, and with Your praise; to You belongs praise for Your pardon after Your power." As for the ḥadīth narrated by Imām Aḥmad with his chain from Ibn ʿAbbās that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ confirmed Umayyah b. Abī al-Ṣalt in something of his poetry when he said: A man and a bull under His right foot, the vulture for the other, and a lion lying in wait. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "He spoke truth." Then he said: And the sun rises at the end of every night, red, its color turning rosy; It does not rise for them in its leisure except tormented, and except it is flogged. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "He spoke truth." This is a ḥadīth with a sound chain, its men are trustworthy, and it implies that the bearers of the Throne today are four, which conflicts with the ḥadīth of the mountain goats, unless it is said that affirming these four in these attributes does not negate others besides them, and Allah knows best. Poetry of Umayyah b. Abī al-Ṣalt about the Throne Among the poetry of Umayyah b. Abī al-Ṣalt about the Throne is his saying: Glorify Allah, for He is worthy of glory; our Lord in heaven has become great, With the lofty edifice that dazzled people, and He set above the heaven a throne, A towering structure that the eye's vision does not reach; you see around it the angels inclining. Ṣūr is the plural of aṣwar, meaning one whose neck inclines from looking upward; al-sharjaʿ means the high, lofty one; and al-sarīr is the throne in the language. And from the poetry of ʿAbd Allāh b. Rawāḥah ؓ, which he used to allude to his wife when she accused him regarding his slave girl: I bear witness that Allah's promise is true, and that the Fire is the abode of the disbelievers, And that the Throne floats above the water, and above the Throne is the Lord of the worlds, And noble angels carry it, angels of the God, marked. Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr and more than one of the imams mentioned it. And Abū Dāwūd said with his chain from Jābir b. ʿAbd Allāh that the Prophet ﷺ said: "I have been permitted to speak about an angel from among the angels of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, from the bearers of the Throne: indeed, the distance between the lobe of his ear and his shoulder is a journey of seven hundred years." Ibn Abī Ḥātim narrated it, and his wording is: the flapping of a bird for seven hundred years.
Grades by grader
No grade is recorded for this wording.