❖ Excerpt taken from the book “Allāh Kahān Hai?” by Shaykh Ghulām Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri (حفظه الله)
The noble Tabi‘īn—the direct students of the Companions—held the same creed as the Sahābah (رضي الله عنهم) regarding the transcendence and loftiness of Allah. Let us examine their clear affirmations:
إن الله عز وجل لما خلق الخلق؛ استوى على العرش، فسبحه يعني العرش.
“When Allah the Almighty created the creation, He rose over the Throne, and the Throne glorified Him.”
— [Tafsīr Ibn Abī Ḥātim: 7/2217]
Chain: Ḥasan
In explanation of Allah’s statement:
"ما يكون من نجوى ثلاثة إلا هو رابعهم..." (al-Mujādilah: 7)
(“No three whisper together except He is the fourth among them...”)
He said:
هو الله عز وجل على العرش، وعلمه معهم.
“Allah the Mighty is above the Throne, and His knowledge is with them.”
— [al-Sharī‘ah by al-Ājurī: 655, Tafsīr al-Ṭabarī 12/28-13, Masā’il Abī Dāwūd: 263, al-Asmā’ wa al-Ṣifāt by al-Bayhaqī 2/341-342, Ḥadīth: 909]
Chain: Ḥasan
He said:
إن الله بدأ خلق السماوات والأرض وما بينهما يوم الأحد، ثم استوى على العرش يوم الجمعة.
“Indeed, Allah began creating the heavens, the earth, and all between them on Sunday, then He rose over the Throne on Friday.”
— [Tafsīr Ibn Abī Ḥātim: 5/1497]
Chain: Ḥasan
He used to say:
ارتفع إليك تغاء التسبيح، وارتفع إليك وقار التقديس، سبحانك ذا الجبروت، بيدك الملك والملكوت والمفاتيح والمقادير.
“The sound of glorification rises to You, and the majesty of sanctification ascends to You. Glorified are You, O Possessor of Power! In Your hand lies sovereignty, dominion, the keys, and the decrees.”
— [al-ʿAẓamah by Abū al-Shaykh: 107]
Chain: Ḥasan
Graded Ṣaḥīḥ by Hāfiẓ al-Dhahabī (al-ʿUlūw, p. 93) and Ibn al-Qayyim (Ijtimāʿ al-Juyūsh al-Islāmiyyah, p. 260)
He used to say:
اسمعوا إلى قول الصادق من فوق عرشه.
“Listen to the words of the Truthful One from above His Throne.”
— [Ḥilyat al-Awliyā’ by Abū Nuʿaym al-Aṣbahānī: 2/358]
Chain: Ḥasan
Authenticated by al-Dhahabī (al-ʿUlūw, p. 97) and Ibn al-Qayyim (Ijtimāʿ al-Juyūsh al-Islāmiyyah, p. 268)
Narrator Siyyār ibn Ḥātim al-ʿAnazī is considered Ṣadūq (trustworthy), Ḥasan al-Ḥadīth by the majority.
He said regarding the Muʿtazilah:
إنما مدار القوم على أن يقولوا: ليس في السماء شيء.
“Their entire doctrine revolves around saying: ‘There is nothing above the heavens.’”
— [al-ʿUlūw by al-Dhahabī, p. 98]
Chain: Ḥasan
al-Dhahabī said:
“This chain is as clear as the sun and as firm as a pillar, narrated from the chief scholar of Basra.”
— [al-ʿUlūw, p. 98]
Imām Sufyān ibn ʿUyaynah said:
I was with Rabīʿah when a man asked about the verse:
الرَّحْمَٰنُ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَى (Ṭāhā: 5)
(“The Most Merciful rose over the Throne.”)
He replied:
الإستواه غير مجهول، والكيف غير معقول، ومن الله الرسالة، وعلى الرسول البلاغ، وعلينا التصديق.
“The istiwā’ (rising over) is known, how is incomprehensible. The message is from Allah, the duty of the Messenger is to convey, and our responsibility is to believe.”
— [al-ʿUlūw by al-Dhahabī, p. 98]
Chain: Ṣaḥīḥ
Ibn Abī Khaythamah narrates:
لو سألت: أين الله؟ لقلت: في السماء.
“If you asked me: Where is Allah? I would reply: Above the heavens.”
— [Ijtimāʿ al-Juyūsh al-Islāmiyyah by Ibn al-Qayyim, p. 67]
Chain: Ḥasan
The great Tabi‘īn, who were the students of the Sahābah, consistently and explicitly believed that:
“Allah is above the heavens, over His Throne, distinct from His creation, yet His knowledge encompasses everything.”
Their belief mirrored that of the Sahābah with no deviation, long before the emergence of deviant theological sects such as the Jahmiyyah, Muʿtazilah, and others who denied Allah’s transcendence.
✦ Belief of the Tabi‘īn (Successors) Regarding the Transcendence of Allah
The noble Tabi‘īn—the direct students of the Companions—held the same creed as the Sahābah (رضي الله عنهم) regarding the transcendence and loftiness of Allah. Let us examine their clear affirmations:
① Ka‘b al-Aḥbār رحمه الله (d. end of ʿUthmān’s Caliphate)
إن الله عز وجل لما خلق الخلق؛ استوى على العرش، فسبحه يعني العرش.
“When Allah the Almighty created the creation, He rose over the Throne, and the Throne glorified Him.”
— [Tafsīr Ibn Abī Ḥātim: 7/2217]
Chain: Ḥasan② Imām Ḍaḥḥāk ibn Muzāḥim al-Hilālī رحمه الله (after 100 AH)
In explanation of Allah’s statement:
"ما يكون من نجوى ثلاثة إلا هو رابعهم..." (al-Mujādilah: 7)
(“No three whisper together except He is the fourth among them...”)
He said:
هو الله عز وجل على العرش، وعلمه معهم.
“Allah the Mighty is above the Throne, and His knowledge is with them.”
— [al-Sharī‘ah by al-Ājurī: 655, Tafsīr al-Ṭabarī 12/28-13, Masā’il Abī Dāwūd: 263, al-Asmā’ wa al-Ṣifāt by al-Bayhaqī 2/341-342, Ḥadīth: 909]
Chain: Ḥasan③ ʿIkrimah Mawlā Ibn ʿAbbās رحمه الله (d. 104 AH)
He said:
إن الله بدأ خلق السماوات والأرض وما بينهما يوم الأحد، ثم استوى على العرش يوم الجمعة.
“Indeed, Allah began creating the heavens, the earth, and all between them on Sunday, then He rose over the Throne on Friday.”
— [Tafsīr Ibn Abī Ḥātim: 5/1497]
Chain: Ḥasan④ Shurayḥ ibn ʿUbayd al-Ḥimṣī رحمه الله (d. after 111 AH)
He used to say:
ارتفع إليك تغاء التسبيح، وارتفع إليك وقار التقديس، سبحانك ذا الجبروت، بيدك الملك والملكوت والمفاتيح والمقادير.
“The sound of glorification rises to You, and the majesty of sanctification ascends to You. Glorified are You, O Possessor of Power! In Your hand lies sovereignty, dominion, the keys, and the decrees.”
— [al-ʿAẓamah by Abū al-Shaykh: 107]
Chain: ḤasanGraded Ṣaḥīḥ by Hāfiẓ al-Dhahabī (al-ʿUlūw, p. 93) and Ibn al-Qayyim (Ijtimāʿ al-Juyūsh al-Islāmiyyah, p. 260)
⑤ Mālik ibn Dīnār al-Baṣrī رحمه الله (d. 127 AH)
He used to say:
اسمعوا إلى قول الصادق من فوق عرشه.
“Listen to the words of the Truthful One from above His Throne.”
— [Ḥilyat al-Awliyā’ by Abū Nuʿaym al-Aṣbahānī: 2/358]
Chain: ḤasanAuthenticated by al-Dhahabī (al-ʿUlūw, p. 97) and Ibn al-Qayyim (Ijtimāʿ al-Juyūsh al-Islāmiyyah, p. 268)
Narrator Siyyār ibn Ḥātim al-ʿAnazī is considered Ṣadūq (trustworthy), Ḥasan al-Ḥadīth by the majority.
- Listed in al-Thiqāt by Ibn Ḥibbān (8/298)
- Narrated from by Imām Aḥmad, who only narrated from reliable narrators
- Declared Ṣaḥīḥ by Ibn Khuzaymah (2532), al-Tirmidhī (3444), al-Ḥākim (1/122)
- Graded Thiqah by al-Haythamī (Majmaʿ al-Zawā’id: 10/150)
⑥ Ayyūb ibn Abī Tamīmah al-Sakhtiyānī رحمه الله (d. 131 AH)
He said regarding the Muʿtazilah:
إنما مدار القوم على أن يقولوا: ليس في السماء شيء.
“Their entire doctrine revolves around saying: ‘There is nothing above the heavens.’”
— [al-ʿUlūw by al-Dhahabī, p. 98]
Chain: Ḥasanal-Dhahabī said:
“This chain is as clear as the sun and as firm as a pillar, narrated from the chief scholar of Basra.”
— [al-ʿUlūw, p. 98]
⑦ Rabīʿah ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān رحمه الله (d. 136 AH)
Imām Sufyān ibn ʿUyaynah said:
I was with Rabīʿah when a man asked about the verse:
الرَّحْمَٰنُ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَى (Ṭāhā: 5)
(“The Most Merciful rose over the Throne.”)
He replied:
الإستواه غير مجهول، والكيف غير معقول، ومن الله الرسالة، وعلى الرسول البلاغ، وعلينا التصديق.
“The istiwā’ (rising over) is known, how is incomprehensible. The message is from Allah, the duty of the Messenger is to convey, and our responsibility is to believe.”
— [al-ʿUlūw by al-Dhahabī, p. 98]
Chain: Ṣaḥīḥ⑧ Sulaimān ibn Ṭarkhān at-Taymī رحمه الله (d. 143 AH)
Ibn Abī Khaythamah narrates:
لو سألت: أين الله؟ لقلت: في السماء.
“If you asked me: Where is Allah? I would reply: Above the heavens.”
— [Ijtimāʿ al-Juyūsh al-Islāmiyyah by Ibn al-Qayyim, p. 67]
Chain: Ḥasan
Conclusion:
The great Tabi‘īn, who were the students of the Sahābah, consistently and explicitly believed that:
“Allah is above the heavens, over His Throne, distinct from His creation, yet His knowledge encompasses everything.”
Their belief mirrored that of the Sahābah with no deviation, long before the emergence of deviant theological sects such as the Jahmiyyah, Muʿtazilah, and others who denied Allah’s transcendence.
