سورة الأعراف

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) was asked about the different kinds of creation. He said: "They are of three modes: like khalq al-ikhtira' (the creation of origination), as Allah the Exalted has said: خَلَقَ السَّماواتِ وَ الْأَرْضَ فِی سِتَّةِ أَیَّامٍ [He created the heavens and the earth in six days]; and khalq al-istihalah (the creation of transformation), like this word of Allah the Exalted: 'He creates you in the wombs of your mothers, creation after creation, in three darknesses!' (Zumar/6), and this verse: 'He is the One who created you from dust, then from a drop of semen' (Ghafir/67); or khalq al-taqdir (the creation of ordaining), as He said to Isa (peace be upon him): 'And when you fashioned something out of clay' (Ma'idah/110)."

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): Although Allah had the power to accomplish this in the blink of an eye, He nonetheless created them in six days, so that through this act He might show the angels, gradually and one by one, that which He creates of the heavens and the earth, so that the coming into being of each of them, at each stage, would be a proof for the angels of [the power of] Allah.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): One of the zanadiqah (heretics) came to Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) and said: "Were it not for the discrepancy and contradiction in the Quran, I would enter your religion." Ali (peace be upon him) said: "The meaning of the saying of Allah, where He says: 'I only exhort you to one thing' (Saba/46), is this: Allah the Blessed and Exalted sent down the ordinances of the laws and the signs of the obligations at various times, just as He created the heavens and the earth in six days; and had He wished to create them in less than the blink of an eye, He would certainly have created them. But He made deliberation and forbearance an example for His trustees and an establishment of the proof upon His creation."

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) — in the course of a long hadith describing the Mi'raj — said: I said: "O angels of my Lord! Do you know us as we truly deserve to be known?" They said: "O Prophet of Allah! How could we not know you, when you were the first of Allah's creation? He created you as figures of light from His light, in a light from the radiance of His might and from the radiance of His dominion and from the light of His noble Countenance, and He placed for you seats in the malakut (kingdom) of His sovereignty before the vast heaven and the outspread earth came into being — while His Throne was upon the water, before the heaven was built and the earth was spread out. Then He created the heavens and the earth in six days [six periods]. Then He raised the Throne up to the seventh heaven and established Himself upon His Throne, while you were before the Throne glorifying, sanctifying, and magnifying Him. Then He created the angels from the beginning of what He willed, from various lights; we would pass by you and you were glorifying Him, praising Him, declaring His oneness, magnifying Him, exalting Him, and sanctifying Him, and so we too glorified, sanctified, exalted, magnified, and declared His oneness through your tasbih, tahmid, tahlil, takbir, taqdis, and tamjid. Whatever is sent down from Allah is to you, and whatever ascends to Allah is from you; so how could we not know you?!"

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): إِنَّ رَبَّکُمُ اللهُ الَّذِی خَلَقَ السَّماواتِ وَ الْأَرْضَ فِی سِتَّةِ أَیَّامٍ [Surely your Lord is Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth in six days] — that is, in six periods of time. ثُمَّ اسْتَوی عَلَی الْعَرْشِ [Then He established Himself upon the Throne] — that is, He rose above the Throne.

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): إِنَّ رَبَّکُمُ اللهُ الَّذِی خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَ الأَرْضَ فِی سِتَّةِ أَیَّامٍ [Surely your Lord is Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth in six days] — that is, in six periods of time. ثُمَّ اسْتَوَی عَلَی الْعَرْشِ [Then He established Himself upon the Throne] — that is, by His power He rose above the Throne. یُغْشِی اللَّیْلَ النَّهَارَ یَطْلُبُهُ حَثِیثًا [He throws the veil of night over the day, which it pursues incessantly] — that is, very swiftly.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): Ibn Abbas said: The Jews came to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) and asked him about the creation of the heavens and the earth. He said: "Allah created the earth on Sunday and Monday, and He created the mountains and their benefits on Tuesday, and on Wednesday He created the trees, water, cities, prosperity and ruin — so these are four days, and Allah the Exalted said: قُلْ أَ إِنَّکُمْ لَتَکْفُرُونَ بِالَّذِی خَلَقَ الْأَرْضَ فِی یَوْمَیْنِ [Say: Do you really disbelieve in the One who created the earth in two days?] ... فِی أَرْبَعَةِ أَیَّامٍ سَواءً لِلسَّائِلِینَ [in four days, exactly according to the need of those who ask]. (Fussilat 41:9–10). On Thursday He created the heaven, and on Friday He created the stars, the sun, the moon, and the angels (peace be upon them), until three hours were left of it. In the first of these three hours He created the appointed times of death — the time when each one who dies will die; in the second hour He cast affliction upon every thing from which benefit is derived; and in the third hour He created Adam, settled him in Paradise, ordered Iblis to prostrate to him, and in the final hour expelled him from it." The Jews said: "Then what, O Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)?" He said: "Then He established Himself upon the Throne." They said: "You would have been correct had you completed it." And they themselves said: "Then He rested." The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) became severely angry, and this verse was revealed: وَ لَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا السَّماواتِ وَ الْأَرْضَ وَ ما بَیْنَهُما فِی سِتَّةِ أَیَّامٍ وَ ما مَسَّنا مِنْ لُغُوبٍ [Indeed We created the heavens and the earth and what is between them in six days, and no weariness touched Us] [so how then is raising the dead difficult for Us]?! فَاصْبِرْ عَلی ما یَقُولُونَ [So be patient over what they say]. (Qaf 50:38–39).

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Allah created the months as twelve months, and they were three hundred and sixty days, and He held back from them six days in which He created the heavens and the earths, and from that the months became shorter.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Bakr ibn Ali ibn Abd al-Aziz narrated from his father, who said: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): "How many days is a year?" He said: "Three hundred and sixty days, of which Allah the Mighty and Majestic devoted six days to the creation of the world, and this was subtracted from the original year. Thus the year became three hundred and fifty-four days."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): إِنَّ اللهَ خَلَقَ السَّماواتِ وَ الْأَرْضَ فِی سِتَّةِ أَیَّامٍ [Indeed Allah created the heavens and the earth in six days]; Allah created the heavens and the earth in six days, so those six days were subtracted from the days of the year.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Allah created the year as three hundred and sixty days, and He created the heavens and the earth in six days, and He set them aside from the three hundred and sixty days, so the year is three hundred and fifty-four days.

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): Allah created the heavens from smoke, then began the creation of the earth on Sunday and Monday; and this is the word of Allah the Mighty and Majestic: أَ إِنَّکُمْ لَتَکْفُرُونَ بِالَّذِی خَلَقَ الْأَرْضَ فِی یَوْمَیْنِ [Do you indeed disbelieve in Him who created the earth in two days?] (Fussilat/9). Then He appointed its sustenance on Tuesday and Wednesday, and this is the word of Allah the Mighty and Majestic: وَ قَدَّرَ فِیها أَقْواتَها فِی أَرْبَعَةِ أَیَّامٍ سَواءً لِلسَّائِلِینَ [And He appointed in it its sustenance — all in four days, equal for those who seek] (Fussilat/10). Then He turned to the creation of the heaven and raised it up and adorned it with the stars, the sun and the moon, and set them running in their orbits, and in them created on Thursday and Friday whatever He willed of His creation and His angels. And He created Paradise on Friday, and He also created Adam (peace be upon him) on Friday, and this is the word of Allah the Exalted: خَلَقَ السَّماواتِ وَ الْأَرْضَ فِی سِتَّةِ أَیَّامٍ [He created the heavens and the earth in six days]; and it was completed, and He recorded everything on Saturday. The Jews magnify Saturday because on it everything came to an end, and the Christians magnify Sunday because on it the creation of everything began, and the Muslims magnify Friday because on it Allah finished creation and created His mercy in Paradise, and created Adam, and on that day Adam descended from Paradise to the earth, and on that day his repentance was accepted on the earth — and this was the greatest of all.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Truly Allah — whose remembrance is magnified and whose names are pure and sanctified — created the earth before the heaven, then established Himself upon the Throne to direct all affairs.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): عَلَی الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوی [He established Himself upon the Throne] — meaning: the direction of Allah the Mighty and Majestic and His command took hold over the Throne.

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): Hasan ibn Rashid narrates: Imam Kazim (peace be upon him) was asked about the meaning of the verse عَلَی الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوی [He established Himself upon the Throne]. He said: "He has dominion over everything small and great."

Imam al-Sajjad (peace be upon him) (in answer to a question about the Throne — from what did Allah create it? — said:) Allah created it as four [portions], and before it He had created only three things: the air, the Pen, and the light. Then He created the Throne from lights of different colours: from those lights [is] a green light — from it greenness took its green; a yellow light — from it yellowness took its yellow; a red light — from it redness took its red; and a white light, which is the Light of lights, and from it the daylight took its brightness. Then He made it [into] seventy thousand layers, the thickness of each layer being like [the distance] from the top of the Throne down to the lowest of the low, and there is not one of these layers but that it glorifies Allah with tahlil and tasbih, with varied voices and different tongues. Were permission given [for one of them to be heard] and something of it were made audible, the mountains and cities and fortresses would be shattered by its awe, the seas would be split open, and everything that exists apart from Allah the Exalted would perish. The Throne has eight pillars, and each pillar is borne by angels whose number, from their vastness and multitude, none can count except Allah — angels who glorify and sanctify Allah by night and day and do not tire of this work. And if anything above them could be sensed, they would not stand [before it] even for the blinking of an eye; between them and [that] perception are al-Jabarut (the realm of might), al-Kibriya' (majesty), al-'Azamah (greatness), al-Quds (holiness), al-Rahmah (mercy) and al-'Ilm (knowledge). Beyond what has been said there is no [further] word, and whoever seeks beyond this gains nothing but bewilderment.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): When Allah created the Throne, He set for it three hundred and sixty thousand pillars, and before each pillar He placed three hundred and sixty thousand angels. If Allah were to command the smallest of them, it would swallow all the seven heavens and the seven earths, and all of that in its mouth would be like a pebble in a vast desert. Allah said to them: 'O My servants! Lift up My Throne!' So they helped one another, but they had neither the strength to carry it nor to move it. Allah created alongside each angel another angel, but they still could not shake it. Then Allah created ten angels alongside each one; still they had no power to move it. Then He created facing each one their full number again; still they had no power to move it. ... Allah said to all of them: 'Leave it to Me, and I shall hold it up by My own power.' So they let it go, and Allah held it up by His power. Then He said to eight of them: 'You lift it!' They said: 'With all these angels we did not have the strength to carry it — how shall we carry it alone without them?' He said: 'Because I am the Allah who makes the far near and the difficult easy and the easy difficult and the simple hard; I do whatever I will and I decree whatever I will. I shall teach you words which, when you say them, it will become light for you.' They said: 'What are these words?' He said: 'Say: بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِیمِ وَ لَا حَوْلَ وَ لَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللهِ الْعَلِیِّ الْعَظِیمِ وَ صَلَّی اللهُ عَلَی مُحَمَّدٍ وَ آلِهِ الطَّیِّبِین [In the name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Most Merciful; there is no might and no power except with Allah, the High, the Great; and may Allah's blessings be upon Muhammad and his pure family].' They said these words, and they carried it, and it became light upon their shoulders, like a hair growing on the shoulder of a nimble and strong man.

Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him): In the Throne there exists a likeness of everything that Allah the Exalted has created.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Mufaddal ibn Umar said: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): 'What are the Throne (al-Arsh) and the Footstool (al-Kursi)?' He said: 'From one aspect, the whole of creation is called the Throne, and the Footstool is the vessel that contains it; and from another aspect, the Throne is the knowledge which Allah has disclosed to His prophets, His messengers and His proofs (peace be upon them), and the Footstool is the knowledge which He has not disclosed to any of His prophets, His messengers or His proofs (peace be upon them).'

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): O One from whose blazing light the angels around His Footstool and His Throne are in fear — standing in ranks, glorifying, circumambulating, humble, submissive to His command.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): In the ta'qib (supplication after prayer) of Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) it comes: I ask You by Your name by which You created Your Throne ... and I ask You by Your name by which You raised up Your Throne and Your Footstool in the air, and I ask You by Your name by which the bearers of Your Throne call upon You, and by which their feet were made firm, and by that name You made them bear Your Throne — O Allah whom no angel brought near, nor any bearer of Your Throne or Your Footstool knows anything of, except him whom You Yourself have taught.

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): The Arsh (Throne) was named Arsh because of its loftiness.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): The Arsh (Throne) is of a single red ruby, and an angel looked at it and at its greatness, so Allah revealed to him: 'I have placed in you the strength of seventy thousand angels, each of whom has seventy thousand wings; so fly.' And that angel flew with all the strength and wings he had, for as long as Allah willed him to fly. Then he stopped and looked, and it was as though he had not flown at all.

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): No one can measure the extent of the Arsh (Throne) except Allah the Exalted, who created it; and the heavens, in the creation of the All-Merciful, are like a dome in the midst of a desert.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): The Kursi in comparison with the Arsh (Throne) is indeed like a ring of iron [thrown] in a vast desert.

Imam Askari (peace be upon him): Abu Hashim Abu Hammam said: Muhammad ibn Salih asked Imam Hasan Askari (peace be upon him) about the interpretation of this verse: "To Allah belongs the command, both before and after [this defeat and victory]." (Rum/4). He said: 'The command is with Allah before He commands it, and the command belongs to Him after He commands it, in whatever way He wills.' I said to myself: 'This is the meaning of this very verse: أَلا لَهُ الخَلْقُ وَ الْأَمْرُ تَبارَکَ اللهُ رَبُّ الْعالَمِینَ [Surely His is the creation and the command; blessed is Allah, the Lord of the worlds].' At that moment the Imam turned to me and said: 'It is just as you imagined in your heart; أَلا لَهُ الخَلْقُ وَ الْأَمْرُ تَبارَکَ اللهُ رَبُّ الْعالَمِینَ [Surely His is the creation and the command; blessed is Allah, the Lord of the worlds].' I said: 'I bear witness that you are among the people the proof (hujjah) of Allah and the son of the proof of Allah.'