سورة طه

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): It is narrated from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) that the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: "These seven earths, and this rooster, and this rock, and this fish, and this dark sea, and this air, and this ath-Thara (soil), together with whoever is in it and upon it — all of them, compared to the first heaven, are like a ring cast in a vast wilderness; and all of this together with the nearest heaven and whoever is upon it and in it, compared to what is above it, is like a ring in a vast wilderness; and these two heavens with whoever is in them and upon them, compared to what is above them, are like a ring in a wide, remote wilderness; and these three together with whoever is in them and upon them, compared to the fourth, are like a ring in a wide, remote wilderness — until it reaches the seventh heaven; and all of them together with whoever is in them and upon them, compared to a sea that is hidden from the people of the earth, are like a ring in a wide, remote wilderness."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): One of the questions the Jew asked the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) was: "Does your Lord carry or is He carried?" The Imam said: "My Lord, the Mighty and Majestic, carries everything by His power, and nothing can bear His majesty." He said: "Then how is it that Allah says: 'And above them on that Day eight will bear the Throne of your Lord.' [al-Haqqah/17]." The Imam said: "O Jew, do you not know that to Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens, and whatever is in the earth, and whatever is between them, and whatever is [hidden] beneath the soil? Everything rests upon the soil, and the soil is upheld by the power of Allah, and the power of the Truth bears everything."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Salman al-Farsi, in a long hadith, mentions the arrival of the Jathiliq with a hundred Christians in Medina, and that the Jathiliq asked Abu Bakr certain questions which he did not answer, after which he was directed to the Commander of the Faithful Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him). He asked the Imam several questions which the Imam answered. Among what he asked was this... He said to the Imam: "Inform me about your Lord — does He carry things, or is He carried, in that His Throne carries Him?" Ali (peace be upon him) said: "Our Lord, the Mighty and Majestic, carries and is not carried." The Christian said: "How can this be, while we find in the Injil: 'And above them on that Day eight angels will bear the Throne of your Lord'?" Ali (peace be upon him) said: "Indeed the angels bear the Throne, and the Throne is not, as you suppose, in the shape of a couch. Rather it is something bounded, of a fixed measure, a created thing which Allah manages, and your Lord, the Mighty and Majestic, is its Owner — not that He is upon it in the manner of one thing being upon another. He has commanded the angels to bear it, and the angels bear the Throne by means of the power He has given them." The Christian said: "You have spoken truly, may Allah have mercy on you."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Barqi narrates: The Catholicos asked Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him): "Tell me... where is Allah, the Mighty and Majestic?" He (peace be upon him) said: "Here, there, above, below, encompassing us and with us, and this is His saying: ما یَکُونُ مِنْ نَجْوی ثَلاثَةٍ إِلَّا هُوَ رابِعُهُمْ وَ لا خَمْسَةٍ إِلَّا هُوَ سادِسُهُمْ وَ لا أَدْنی مِنْ ذلِکَ وَ لا أَکْثَرَ إِلَّا هُوَ مَعَهُمْ أَیْنَ ما کانُوا [There is no secret counsel of three but He is their fourth, nor of five but He is their sixth, nor of less than that nor of more but He is with them wherever they are] (Mujadala/7). And the Kursi encompasses the heavens and the earth: وَ ما بَیْنَهُما وَ ما تَحْتَ الثَّری [and what is between them two and what is beneath the ground]."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Al-Ala al-Makfuf narrates from one of his companions: Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) was asked: "Upon what is the earth?" He said: "Upon a fish." They said: "Upon what is the fish?" He said: "Upon water." They said: "Upon what is the water?" He said: "Upon al-thara (the moist earth)." They asked: "Upon what is al-thara?" He said: "At this point the knowledge of the scholars ends and does not go beyond it."