سورة التوبة

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): فَإِنْ تَوَلَّوْا [But if they turn away], O Muhammad! If they turn away from that to which you call them, فَقُلْ حَسْبِیَ اللهُ لا إِلهَ إِلَّا هُوَ عَلَیْهِ تَوَکَّلْتُ وَ هُوَ رَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِیمِ [then say: Allah is sufficient for me, there is no god but He; on Him do I rely, and He is the Lord of the mighty Throne].

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Hanan ibn Sadir said: I asked him about the Throne (al-Arsh) and the Footstool (al-Kursi). He said: "The Throne has many and diverse attributes, such that for every occasion in which the Qur'an uses it, it has an independent attribute suited to that occasion. 'Arsh' in the phrase: رَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِیمِ [Lord of the mighty Throne] means 'the mighty Kingdom' ... In connection, the 'Arsh' is separate from the 'Kursi', because both are two doors from the greatest doors of the unseen (ghayb), and all these doors are among the matters of the unseen, and in 'the unseen' they are paired with each other; for the 'Kursi' is the outer door of the unseen from which the origination of the wondrous matters (the creation) of all things emerges. But the 'Arsh' is the inner door of the unseen in which reside the knowledge of kayf (how), kawn (being), qadar (measure), hadd (limit) and ayn (where), mashi'ah (volition), the attribute of will (iradah), the knowledge of utterances and movements and abstention, and the knowledge of return (awd) and bada'. These two doors, in knowledge, are two paired doors, because the 'dominion of the Arsh' is different from the 'dominion of the Kursi', and its knowledge is more hidden than the knowledge of the Kursi; for this reason Allah said: رَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِیمِ [Lord of the mighty Throne], because its attribute is greater than the attribute of the Kursi. Yet in any case, these two terms, in being of the unseen, are paired with each other." I said: "May I be your ransom! Then why has the 'Arsh' become equal in virtue to the 'Kursi'?" He said: "Because the knowledge of kayfufiyyah (mode of being), and what is manifest of the doors of bada', and its ayniyyah (whereness), and the limit of its being closed and opened, is placed in the Arsh. So these two are neighbours and equal to one another. One of them has placed the other upon its own vessel, just as the scholars in the science of sarf (morphology) argue [about the changing and altering of letters], the Arsh and Kursi likewise argue for the truth of their own claim; for Allah singles out with His mercy whomever He wills. (al-Baqarah/105) For your Lord is Strong and Invincible! (Hud/66)."

Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him): The Throne is the fourth thing Allah created. Before it He had created the air, the pen and the light, then He created the Throne from lights of various colours: among them a green light from which greenness came into being, a yellow light from which the yellow colours come, a red light from which the red colours come, and a white light which is the light of lights and from which comes the brightness of the day. Then He made it into seventy thousand layers, the thickness of each layer being like the distance from the Throne down to the lowest of the low (asfal al-safilin). Each layer glorifies and sanctifies Him with different voices which are not confused with one another. If one of those voices were to become audible and were to reach what lies beneath it, all the mountains, cities and walls would be destroyed, the seas would be split open, and whatever else there is would perish. The Throne has eight pillars (rukn), each pillar being borne by a group of angels who glorify [Him] night and day and do not slacken (Al-Anbiya 20). No one but Allah knows their number. If one of the voices that is above the Throne were sensed, it would not endure for a moment. But between those voices and the senses lie majesty (jabarut), grandeur (kibriya), greatness, holiness, mercy and knowledge — and beyond this there is nothing more to say.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Hasan ibn Fadl narrated from Imam Rida (peace be upon him) who said: ... Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said [to Rabi']: "O Rabi'! When I saw the evil on his face (Mansur al-Dawaniqi's), I said: 'My Lord is sufficient for me against the ones lorded over, and my Creator is sufficient for me against the created, and my Provider is sufficient for me against those who are provided for, and Allah, the Lord of the worlds, is sufficient for me. Sufficient for me is He who is sufficient for me; sufficient for me is the One who has always been sufficient for me. حَسْبِیَ اللهُ لا إِلهَ إِلَّا هُوَ عَلَیْهِ تَوَکَّلْتُ وَ هُوَ رَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِیمِ [Allah is sufficient for me, there is no god but He; on Him do I rely, and He is the Lord of the mighty Throne].'"