سورة طه

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: The Kursi in relation to the Arsh (Throne) is like a ring in an [open] desert. And he recited this verse: الرَّحْمنُ عَلَی الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوی [The Beneficent is established on the Throne].

Imam al-Rida (peace be upon him): Safwan ibn Yahya said: Abu Qurra the muhaddith asked me to bring him to Imam al-Rida (peace be upon him). I requested an audience from him and the Imam (peace be upon him) granted it... The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "The Arsh (Throne) is not Allah. The Arsh is the name of knowledge and power, and the Arsh is the name of that in which all things are contained. He has attributed the carrying of the Arsh to other kinds of His creation, because He has made His creation worship Him by carrying His Arsh, and they are the carriers of His knowledge. And there is a creation around His Arsh who glorify Him and act according to the requirement of the knowledge of the Exalted Truth, and there are angels who record the deeds of His servants. And He has made the people of the earth worship Him by circumambulating His House. And Allah, as He has said, is established upon the Arsh. And the Arsh and its carriers and whoever is around it — Allah is the Carrier, the Guardian, the Sustainer over them, the One who stands over every soul and is above every thing. But He is not called 'carried', nor is He called 'lower' on its own, and He is not connected to anything, so that the wording and the meaning would be corrupted."

Imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon him): Hanan ibn Sadir said: I asked Imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) about the Arsh (Throne) and the Kursi (Footstool). He said: "The Arsh has many and varied attributes; for each attribute in the Qur'an a distinct meaning has come. His saying: 'Lord of the Great Arsh' (Tawbah/129) — meaning, the great dominion. And the verse: الرَّحْمنُ عَلَی الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوی [The Beneficent is established upon the Throne] — He is encompassing of the dominion, and this dominion is the modality of every thing. And the Arsh in its connection is distinct from the Kursi, for these two are the greatest of the gates of the hidden matters, and both are of the unseen matters and are together in the unseen; for the Kursi is the outer gate of the unseen, which is the point of emergence of creation and from which all things come, and the Arsh is the inner gate, in which is found the knowledge of modality, being, measure, limit, place, will and the attribute of intention, and the knowledge of words and movements and abstention, and the knowledge of return and bada' (change of decree). Both gates of knowledge are together, for the dominion of the Arsh is other than the dominion of the Kursi, and its knowledge is more hidden than the knowledge of the Kursi."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Barqi, in a marfu' hadith, said: The Jathaliq (the Catholicos) asked Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) and said to him: "Tell me about Allah — does He carry the Throne, or does the Throne carry Him?" Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) said: "Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, is the carrier of the Throne, and of the heavens and the earth and whatever is in them and whatever is between them. This verse expresses that: 'Indeed Allah holds the heavens and the earth lest they deviate from their order, and if they were to deviate, no one could hold them back after Him; indeed He is Forbearing and Forgiving.' (Fatir/41)." He said: "Inform me about the verse: 'And on that day eight angels shall carry the Throne of your Lord above them.' (al-Haqqa/17). How is this possible, while you said that He carries the Throne and the heavens and the earth?" Then Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) said to him: "Allah created the Throne from four lights: a red light from which redness came into being, a green light from which greenness came into being, a yellow light from which yellowness came into being, and a white light from which whiteness came into being. And that is the very knowledge which Allah placed upon [the shoulders of] the bearers; and it is a light from His greatness. By His greatness and His light, Allah has made the hearts of the believers see, and by His light and greatness the ignorant have risen up in opposition to Him, and by His light and greatness all His creatures in the heavens and the earth — with their varied deeds and the religions that have become confused for them — seek a way and a means toward Him. And whatever Allah carries by His light, greatness and power cannot bring benefit or harm to itself, nor can it bring about death, life or resurrection for itself. So everything in this world is carried, and Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, holds the heavens and the earth lest they perish, and He encompasses them both. He is the source of life and light of every thing, and the Truth (glorified is He) is far above and much higher and loftier than what the wrongdoers say." He said: "Now tell me: where is Allah, the Mighty and Majestic?" Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) said: "He is here and there, above and below, encompassing us and with us, as this verse says: 'There is no secret conversation among three but that He is the fourth of them, nor among five but that He is the sixth of them, nor less than that [number] nor more, but that He is with them wherever they are.' (al-Mujadala/7). Thus the Kursi encompasses the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them and whatever is beneath the soil; and though you raise your voice, know that He knows the secret and what is hidden, as Allah says: 'His throne [of dominion] encompasses the heavens and the earth, and the preservation of them both [the heavens and earth] does not weary Him. To Him alone belong loftiness of rank and greatness.' (al-Baqara/255). Those who carry the Throne are the very scholars upon [whose shoulders] Allah has placed His knowledge, and whatever is in the dominion (malakut) of Allah is not outside these four things. That is the malakut which Allah shows to His chosen ones, just as He showed it to Ibrahim, His khalil (friend), and then said: 'And thus did We show Ibrahim the malakut (dominion) of the heavens and the earth [and the absolute sovereignty of Allah over them] [so that he might reason by it, and become of the people of certainty].' (al-An'am/75). And how can the bearers of the Throne carry Allah, when it is by His life that their hearts are alive, and by His light that they find the way to knowing Him?!"

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): In the book al-Ihtijaj it is reported: Among the questions the atheist asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) was this: "Is the Kursi greater or the Arsh?" Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: "Everything Allah has created lies within the Kursi, except for the Arsh, for it is too immense for the Kursi to encompass it." He said: "Did He create the day before the night?" He said: "Yes, He created the day before the night, the sun before the moon, and the earth before the sky. He placed the earth upon the back of a fish, the fish in water, the water in the heart of a hollow rock, the rock upon the shoulder of an angel, the angel upon the soil, the soil upon the barren wind, and the wind upon the air; and the air is held in place by the power [of Allah]. Beneath the barren wind there is nothing but air and darkness, and beyond that there is no expanse nor narrowness nor anything that can be imagined. Then Allah created the Kursi and placed the heavens and the earth within it. The Kursi is greater than everything that has been created. Then He created the Arsh and made it greater than the Kursi."

Imam al-Hadi (peace be upon him): Muhammad ibn Isa said: I wrote to Imam al-Hadi (peace be upon him): "O my master! May Allah make me your ransom, it has been narrated to us that Allah is in one place rather than another and is established upon the Arsh, and that at the end of every night He descends to the lowest heaven, and it is narrated that He descends on the evening of the Day of Arafah and then returns to His place. Some of your followers have said concerning this: 'If Allah is in a location, He is exposed to the air and inevitably conforms with it; and the air is a subtle body that conforms to everything according to its size — so how, with this property, can the air conform with Allah the Mighty and Majestic?'" His Eminence (peace be upon him) wrote in reply: "Knowledge of that is with Allah, and it is He who has measured these conditions in the best manner. And know that if He is in the lowest heaven, there is no difference from when He is upon the Arsh, and all things are equal before His knowledge, power, dominion and encompassing."

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): It is narrated from Imam Hasan (peace be upon him): A group of Jews came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) and asked him about various things. Among their questions was: "Why is the Bayt al-Ma'mur four-cornered?" The Prophet said: "Because it is opposite the Arsh, and it is four-cornered." It was said to him: "Why is the Arsh four-cornered?" He said: "Because the words upon which Islam is built are four, and they are: Subhan Allah, wal-hamdu lillah, wa la ilaha illa Allah, wallahu akbar [Glory be to Allah, and praise be to Allah, and there is no god but Allah, and Allah is the greatest]."

Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him): In the Throne there is a likeness of everything that Allah has created on land and in the sea. He said: This is the interpretation of the words of Allah: وَ إِنْ مِنْ شَیْءٍ إِلَّا عِنْدَنا خَزائِنُهُ [And there is not a thing but with Us are the treasures of it, but We do not send it down but in a known measure]. (Hijr/21). And between two pillars of the Throne is the distance of a swift bird's flight for a thousand years, and every day the Throne is clothed in seventy thousand colors of light which no creature among Allah's creatures has the ability to look upon. All things compared to the Throne are like a ring in a desert. Allah has an angel called "Kharqa'il" who has eighteen thousand wings, and between each two of his wings is a distance of five hundred years. It occurred to him: is there anything above the Throne? So Allah doubled his wings and he came to have thirty-six thousand wings, between each two of them a distance of five hundred years, and Allah revealed to him: "O angel, fly!" He flew for twenty thousand years and did not reach the top of a single pillar of the Throne. Then Allah doubled his wings and his strength, and he flew for another thirty thousand years and still did not reach it. Then Allah revealed to him: "O angel, if you were to fly until the blowing of the Trumpet with your wings you would not reach the leg of My Throne." That angel said: "Glorified be my Most High Lord." And Allah revealed: سَبِّحِ اسْمَ رَبِّکَ الْأَعْلَی [Glorify the name of your Lord, the Most High]. (A'la/1). And the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: "Make it the dhikr of your prostration."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Hasan ibn Musa al-Khashshab narrates from one of the Shia: Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) was asked about the verse: الرَّحْمَنُ عَلَی الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَی [The Beneficent is firm in power over the Throne]. He said: "He has dominion over everything; therefore no thing is closer to Him than another."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Hajjaj said: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) about the verse: الرَّحْمَنُ عَلَی الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَی [The Beneficent is firm in power over the Throne]. He replied: "Allah has dominion over everything; therefore no thing is closer to Him than another, no distant one is far from Him, and no close one is near Him, and it is He who has dominion over everything."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Hisham ibn Hakam said: Among the questions of the zindiq (heretic) to Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) was that he asked: "What is your view on the verse: الرَّحْمَنُ عَلَی الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَی [The Beneficent is firm in power over the Throne]?" Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: "Allah has described Himself by this verse, and thus He has dominion over the Throne and is separate from His creation, without the Throne bearing Him or containing Him or being a place for Him. Rather, we say: He Himself is the bearer of the Throne and the sustainer of it, and our proof is the very thing that Allah has said: وَسِعَ کُرْسِیُّهُ السَّماواتِ وَ الْأَرْضَ [His throne [of authority] encompasses the heavens and the earth]. (Baqarah/255). And we affirm what Allah Himself has established of the Throne and the Kursi, but we do not accept that the Throne and the Kursi contain Him or that the essence of Allah the Exalted is in need of a place or of anything from among His creatures; rather all His creatures are in need of Him."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) was asked about the words of Allah the Mighty and Majestic: الرَّحْمنُ عَلَی الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوی [The Beneficent Allah is firm in power]. He said: "He is established over everything, and nothing is closer to Him than anything else. As for the Throne which is the totality of all creation, eight angels bear it, and each has eight eyes, and each eye is the size of the world; one of them is in the form of a human being and asks Allah the Exalted for sustenance for the children of Adam, and one of them is in the form of a bull and asks Allah the Exalted for sustenance for all cattle, and one of them is in the form of a lion and asks Allah the Exalted for sustenance for all beasts of prey, and one of them is in the form of a rooster and asks Allah the Exalted for sustenance for the birds. But the bearers of the Throne [which is knowledge] are four from the earlier ones and four from the later ones: from the earlier ones are Nuh, Ibrahim, Musa and Isa (peace be upon them); and the other four are Muhammad, Ali, Hasan and Husayn (peace be upon them)."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): الرَّحْمنُ عَلَی الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوی [The Beneficent Allah is firm in power] means His governance became established and His command rose high.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Abu Ma'mar al-Sa'dani said: A man came to Amir al-Mu'minin Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him) and said: "O Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him), I have come to doubt regarding the revealed Book of Allah. I have found that Allah says: الرَّحْمنُ عَلَی الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوی [The Beneficent Allah is firm in power] ..." Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) said: "The words of Allah where He said: 'Do you consider yourselves safe from the One who is in the heaven, that He should cause the earth to swallow you when it is quaking?' (al-Mulk 67:16), and His words: 'And He is Allah, in the heavens and in the earth, hidden' (al-An'am 6:3), and His words: الرَّحْمنُ عَلَی الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوی [The Beneficent Allah is firm in power], and His words: 'And He is with you wherever you are' (al-Hadid 57:4), and His words: 'And We are closer to him than his jugular vein' (Qaf 50:16). Likewise Allah, blessed and exalted, is the praised, the holy, too exalted for anything to issue from Him of what issues from created beings, and He is the Subtle, the All-Aware, and more majestic and greater than that anything should befall Him of what befalls His creation, while He is seated upon the Throne, and His knowledge is witness to every private converse, and He is the Trustee over everything, and the Facilitator of every thing, and the Governor of all things. Allah is far too exalted for Him to be upon His Throne — exalted high indeed."

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): Imam Kazim (peace be upon him) was asked about the meaning of Allah's words: عَلَی الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوی [is firm in power upon the Throne]. He said: "That is, He has taken command over what is small and what is great. (He prevails over everything.)"

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Whoever claims that Allah the Mighty and Majestic is from something, or in something, or upon something, has lied.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Allah the Exalted's dominion over the Throne is perpetual and everlasting.