Dars e Imam-Arsh

“Bismillahir Rahmannir Raheem””Al-Hamdu Lillaahi Rabbil ‘Aalameen was Salaatu was- Salaamu ‘Alaa Sayidinaa Muhammadin wa Aalihi wa Asabihi Ajma ‘een (tauheed- risalat- ahkirat and islam-iman-ihsan)

The great true –, Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq said:”He who claims that Allah is in something or on something or from something, commits ash-shirk. Because if He was in something, He would be contained, and if He was on something, He would be carried, and if He was from something, He would be a creature.”

Shaykh Abdul-Ghaniy an-Nabulsiy said:”He who believes that Allah fills the heavens and earth or that He is a body sitting above al-arsh (ceiling of Paradise; throne) is a kafir.”

Imam Abul-Qasim Ali Ibnul-Hasan Ibn Hibatillah Ibn Asakir said in his Aqidah:“Allah existed before the creation. He does not have a before or an after, an above or a below, a right or a left, an in front of or a behind, a whole or a part. It must not be said when was He, where was He, or how was He. He exists without a place.”

Imam Abu Sulayman al-Khattabiyy said:”What is obligatory upon us and upon every Muslim to know is that our Lord has no shape or form, because the shape has a ‘how’ and ‘how’ does not apply to Allah or His Attributes.”

Imam Ghazali said:”Allah, the Exalted, existed eternally and there was no place. He is not a body, jawhar (atom), or property, and He is not on a place or in a place.”

So, know beyond doubt that the question ‘how’ does not apply to Allah, because this is a question about shapes, bodies, places, depths and dimensions; Allah is clear of all of that. Also be firm that it is invalid to say about Allah “… but we do not know how”, because in essence, it falsely indicates that Allah has a color, shape, dimensions, body, place, but one is ignorant of the ‘how’ of it.

Imam Abu Hanifah said in his book, al-Wasiyyah:”.. and He is the Preserver of al­-arsh and other than al-arsh, without needing it, for had He been in need, He would not have the power to create the world and to manage and preserve it. Moreover, had He been in a place needing to sit and rest , before creating al-arsh, where was Allah?” That is, the question ‘where was Allah’ would have applied to Him, which is impossible. Also, in his book, Al-Fiqh al-Absat, Imam Abu Hanifah said:

“Allah existed eternally and there was no place; He existed before creating the creation. He existed and there was not a place, a creation or a thing; and He is the Creator of everything. He who says ‘I do not know if my Lord is in the heavens or on the earth,’ is a kafir. Also is a kafir whoever says that ‘He is on al-arsh, and I do not know whether al-arsh is in the heaven or on the earth’.”

Consequently, the great True — Scholar Imam Ahmad declared a kafir whomever says these last two phrases because they contain attributing a direction, boundary, and place to Allah. Everything which has a direction and boundary is by necessity in need of a Creator. Thus it is not the intention of Imam Abu Hanifah to prove that the heaven and al-arsh are places for Allah, as those who liken Allah to the creation claim. This is by virtue of the aforementioned saying of the Imam: “Had He been in a place needing to sit and rest, then before creating al-arsh where was Allah?”, which is clear in negating that Allah has a direction or a place.

In his book, Ihya’ul Ulum ad-Din, Imam al-Ghazali said:“… places do not contain Him, nor do the directions, earth, or heavens. He is attributed with an istiwa’ over al-arsh as He said in the Qur’an–with the meaning that He willed–and not as what people may delude. It is an istiwa’ which is clear of touching, resting, holding, moving and containment. Al-arsh does not carry Him, but rather al-arsh and those that carry al-arsh are all carried by Allah with His Power and are subjugated to Him. He is above al-arsh and above the heavens and above everything–in status– an aboveness that does not give Him proximity to al-arsh or the heavens as it does not give Him farness from earth. He is higher in status than everything: higher in status than al-arsh and the heavens, as He is higher in status than earth and the rest of the creation.”

Shaykh Abdul-Ghaniyy an-Nabulsiyy said: “He who believes that Allah filled the heavens and earth or that He is a body sitting above al-arsh, is a kafir.”

19/93 means: “All those in the heavens and earth must come to Allah as a slave.”In his Tafsir (book of explaining or commentory of the Qur’an), Imam ar-Razi said:”… and since it is affirmed by this ayah that everything that existed in the heavens and earth is a slave to Allah, and since it is obligatory that Allah is clear of being a slave, thus He is clear of being in a place or direction, or on al-arsh or al-kursiyy.”

Hence 20/5, in the Qur’an “Ar-RaHmanu alal-Arsh-istawa” clearly does not mean that Allah sits on the throne or that Allah is firmly established on the throne. In the Arabic language, the word istawa has fifteen (15) different meanings, among of which are to sit, to subjugate, to protect, to conquer, and to preserve. Based on what we have covered so far it is clear that it is blasphemous to apply the meaning ‘to sit’ to Allah. However the terms to preserve and to subjugate are in compliance with the Religion and the language. And those so-called translations of al-Quran that referred to the term “Istawa” to “Sits” or “Sat”or “Established himself firmly on the throne” contradict Arabic rules, and Islamic bases.

Bewarned from such translations and such attribues, Allah is almighty clear from the sitting, movement, size, shape, form or change. Allah is great.In Conclusion to what has been mentioned, Allah’s attributes are perfect. The scholars of Islam said that it is obligatory upon every mukallaf (Accountable preson) to know Attributes of Allah, among which 13 attributes that have been mentioned repeatedly in al-Quran. Allah is attributed with: Existence, Oneness, Eternity, Everlastingness, Non-neediness of others, Power, Will, Knowledge, Hearing, Sight, Life, Speech, and Non-resemblance to the creation.

Allah Ta’ala said:”Laysa Kamithlihi Shay’un-Wahuwas-Sami ul-Basir”which means: “Absolutely nothing resembles Allah, and He is attributed with hearing and sight”.And Allah Ta’ala knows best.

Human=balanced proportion of chemical/materialistic world (-ve ) and ruh/noor from divine world .(+ve )

Haqiqi ishq/true love =deedar e elahi/sight of Allah.

Majazi/metmorphical love=connection with Allah.

When I want to talk to allah I say prayers and when I want that he talk to me I recite quran- Hazrath Ali(ra)

Make sure you forward this to others .