It is the unanimous and agreed belief of the believers that Allah is above His Throne. Hafiz al-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) writes:
قلت : مقالۃ السّلف وأئمّۃ السّنّۃ، بل والصّحابۃ واللہ ورسولہ والمؤ منون أنّ اللہ عزّ وجلّ فی لسّماء، وأنّ اللہ علی العرش، وأن ّ اللہ فوق سماواتہ ، وأنّہ ینزل الی السّماء الدّنیا، وحجّتھم علی ذلک النّصوس والآثار۔ ومقالۃ الجھمیّۃ: أنّ اللہ تبارک فی جمعح الأ مکنۃ، تعالی اللہ عن قولھم، بل ھو معنا أینما کنّا بعلمۃ ، وقال متأ خّری المتکلّین: أنّ اللہ تعالیٰ لیس فی السّماء ولا علی العرش والا فی الأض ، والا داخل العالم ، ولا خارج العالم، ولا بائن عن خلقہ، ولا متّصل بھم ، وقالوا جمیح ھذہ الأشیاء صفات الأجسام، واللہ تعالیٰ منزّ ہ عن الجسم ، قال لھم أھل السّنّۃ والأثر نحن لا نخوض فی ذلک، ونقول ماذکر نا اتّباعا للنّصو ص ، وان زعمتم ۔۔۔ ولا نقول بقو لکم ، فانّ ھذہ السّلوب نعوت المعدوم ، تعالی اللہ جلّ جلالہ عن العدم، بل ھو موجود متمیّز عن خلقہ موصوف بما وصف بہ نفسہ من أنّہ فوق العرش بلا کیف۔
“I say: the saying of the righteous predecessors and the Imams of the Sunnah, indeed of the Companions, of Allah, of His Messenger ﷺ and of all the believers, is that Allah is on high, above His Throne and above His heavens. He also descends to the lowest heaven. Their evidence for this is the (Qur’anic) texts and the (hadith) narrations.
The Jahmiyyah say that Allah, Blessed and Exalted, is everywhere. Allah is far exalted above this saying of theirs. In reality, wherever we are, He is with us in terms of His knowledge.
The later theologians said that Allah is neither above the heaven, nor on the Throne, nor on the earth, neither inside the universe nor outside the universe, neither separate from His creation nor connected to it. They say that all of these are attributes of a body, and Allah is free of being a body. The people of the Sunnah and the narrations (and the Jama’ah) said to them: we do not go deep into this matter, and what we have stated is our saying, in following the texts… This is the description of something that has no existence, whereas Allah is far above non-existence. Rather, He exists and is distinct from His creation. He is described with all the attributes with which He has described Himself, namely that He is above the Throne, without asking how.”
Now, with great brevity, we mention the authentic hadiths that clearly indicate that Allah is high above on the Throne:
Hadith number 1:
عن معاویۃ بن الحکم السّلمیّ قال: کانت لی جاریۃ ترعیٰ غنما لی قبل أحد والجوابیّ ۃ، فاطلعت ذات یوم ، فاذا الذّنب قد ذھب بشاۃ عن غنمھا ، وأنار جل من بنی آدم ، آسف کما یأسفون، لکّنی صککتھا صکّۃ، فأتیت رسول اللہ صلّی اللہ علیہ وسلّم ، فعظّم ذلک علیّ قلت : یارسول اللہ ! أفلا أعتقھا؟ قال: ائتنی بھا فأتیتہ بھا ، فقال لھا: أین اللہ ؟ قالت : فی السّماء ، قال : من أنا ؟ قالت: أنت رسول اللہ ، قال أعتقھا ، فانّھا مؤمنۃ۔
“Mu’awiyah ibn al-Hakam al-Sulami (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I had a slave girl who used to graze my sheep in the direction of Uhud and al-Jawwaniyyah. One day I looked and a wolf had taken one sheep from her flock. I was a son of Adam; I felt grief like the others, and I slapped her. Then I came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. He regarded this deed as bad for me. I said, ‘O Messenger of Allah! Should I not free her?’ He said, ‘Bring her to me.’ I brought her, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ asked her, ‘Where is Allah?’ She replied, ‘Above the heavens.’ He said, ‘Who am I?’ She replied, ‘You are the Messenger of Allah.’ He said, ‘Free her, for she is a believer.'”
This hadith is an explicit text that Allah is on the Throne. Imam Abu al-Hasan al-Ash’ari (may Allah have mercy on him) (d. 324 AH), establishing this from the hadith, writes:
وھذا ید لّ علی أنّ اللہ تعالیٰ علی عرشہ فوق السّماء۔ ”
“This shows that Allah is above the heavens, on His Throne.”
Imam Ibn Abd al-Barr (may Allah have mercy on him) (d. 463 AH) writes under this hadith:
معانی ھذا الحدیث واضعۃ یستخنی عن الکلام فیھا، وأمّا قولہ: ۥین اللہ ؟ فقالت: فی السّماء، فعلی ٰ ھذا أھل الحقّ۔
“The meaning of this hadith is clear and needs no discussion. As for the question of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, ‘Where is Allah?’, and the slave girl’s answer that He is above the heavens, the people of truth are upon this.”
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He also writes about this hadith:
وأمّا قولہ فی ھذاالحدیث للجاریۃ : أین اللہ ؟ فعلی ذلک جماعۃ أھل الحدیث ورواتہ المتفقّھون فیہ وسائر نقلتہ ، کلّھم یقول ماقال اللہ تعالیٰ فی کتابہ: ( الرحمن علی العرش استوٰی)( طٰہٰ: ۵) وأنّ اللہ عزّ وجلّ فی السّماء وعلمہ فی کلّ مکان۔
“As for the statement of the Messenger ﷺ to the slave girl in this hadith, ‘Where is Allah?’, the Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jama’ah are upon this. They are the people of hadith, the narrators who attained understanding in hadith, and all the transmitters. They say only what Allah has said in His Book: (The Most Merciful rose above the Throne) (Ta-Ha: 5). Allah is above the heavens and His knowledge is in every place.
فقی حدیث رسول اللہ صلّی اللہ علیہ وسلّم دلیل علی انّ الرّجل اذا لم یعلم أنّ اللہ عزّ وجل فی السّما ء دون الأ رض، فلیس بمؤمن، ولو کان عبدا، فاعتق لم یجز فی رقبۃ مؤمنۃ، اذ لا یعلم انّ اللہ فی السّماء، الا تری انّ رسول اللہ صلّی اللہ علیہ وسلّم أمارۃ ایمانھا معر فتھا انّ اللہ فی السّماء، وفی قول رسول اللہ صلّی اللہ علیہ وسلّم تکذیب لقول من یقول : ھو فی کلّ مکان، لا یوصف ب” أین” ، لانّ شیئا، لا یخلو منہ مکان یستحیل ان یقال: أین ھو؟ ولا یقال: این لمن ھو فی مکان، یخلو منہ مکان۔
ولو کان الا مر علی مایدّ عی ھؤ لاء الزّ ائعۃ ، لأ نکر علیھا رسول اللہ صلّی اللہ علیہ وسلّم قولھا وعلمھا ، ولکنھا علمت بہ، فسدّ قھا رسول اللہ وشھد لھا بالا یمان بذلک ، ولو کان فی الأرض کما ھو فی السّما ء لم یتمکّ ایمانھا حتی تعرفہ فی الارض کما عرفتہ فی السّماء۔
“In this hadith of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ there is evidence that unless a man knows that Allah is not on the earth but above the heavens, he cannot be a believer. If such a person were a slave and were to be freed, he would not serve for the freeing of a believing neck, because he does not believe that Allah is above the heavens. Do you not see that he ﷺ made the sign of her faith her knowledge of Allah, that Allah is in the heavens? In his ﷺ question, ‘Where is Allah?’, there is a refutation of those who say that Allah is everywhere. For what is present everywhere cannot be described with ‘where’. It is impossible to ask ‘where is it?’ about something from which no place is empty. The question ‘where’ is asked only about what is in one place and not in another place.
If the matter were as these astray people claim, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would have declared the slave girl’s statement wrong and taught her. But she knew this reality, so the Messenger of Allah ﷺ confirmed her, and for this reason he also testified to her faith. Had Allah been on the earth just as He is in the heavens, the slave girl’s faith would not have been complete until she knew Him on the earth too, just as she knew Him in the heavens.”
He also writes:
فقول رسول اللہ صلّی اللہ علیہ وسلّم : انّھا مؤ منۃ دلیل علی انّھا لو لم تؤ من بانّ اللہ فی السّما ء لم تک نمؤ منۃ، وأنہ لایجوز فی الرّقبۃ المؤ مۃ الّا من یحد اللہ أنّہ فی السّما ء ، کما قال اللہ ورسولہ۔ ”
So the Messenger of Allah’s ﷺ declaring her a believer is evidence that if she did not affirm Allah Almighty to be above the heavens, she would not have been a believer. Furthermore, in freeing a believing slave, only the slave, male or female, who affirms Allah Almighty to be above the heavens, in accordance with the word of Allah and His Messenger, will suffice.”
He further writes:
فھذہ الآ ی کلّھا تنبئک عن اللہ انّہ فی موضع، وأنّہ السّما ء دون الاض ، وأنّہ علی العرش دون ماسواہ من الموضع، قد عرف ذلک من قرأالقرآن وامن بہ وصدّق اللہ بمافیہ، فلم تحکم علی اللہ تعالیٰ أیّھا العبد الضّعیف بما ھو مکذّبک فی کتابہ ، ویکذْبکہ الرّسول صلّی اللہ علیہ وسلّم ؟ أولم یبلغک حدیث النّبیّ صلّی اللہ علیہ وسلّم أنّ ہ قال : للأ مۃالسّوداء : این اللہ ؟ فقالت: فی السّماء، قال: أعتقھا، فانّھا مؤ منۃ، فھذا بنبّئک أنّہ فی السّماء دون الأرض، فکیف تترک ماقال اللہ تعالیٰ ورسولہ وتختار علیھما ذلک قول بشر والثّلجیّ ونظر ائھما من الجھمیّۃ۔
“These verses all tell you about Allah Almighty that He is in a place, and that place is above the heavens, not above the earth. Furthermore, He is on the Throne, not in any other place. This is known to everyone who recites the Quran, believes in it, and affirms the statements of Allah Almighty contained in it. O weak human being! How can you pass upon Allah Almighty a judgement which Allah Almighty in His Book and His Messenger in his statements declare false? Or has the hadith not reached you that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ asked that black slave woman, ‘Where is Allah?’ She replied, ‘Above the heavens.’ He ﷺ said, ‘Free her, she is a believer.’ This hadith also tells you that Allah Almighty is above the heavens, not on the earth. So how can you abandon the statements of Allah and His Messenger and prefer over them in this matter the words of Jahmi people like Bishr (al-Marisi) and al-Thalji?”
After this hadith, Hafiz al-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) writes:
وھکذا رأینا فی کلّ من یسال : أین اللہ ؟ یبادر بفطرتہ وقول : فی السّماء ، فیالخبر مسأ لتان: احد اھما: شر عیّۃ قول المسلم : این اللہ ؟ وثانیھما: قول المسئول : فی السّماء، فمن أنکر حاتین المسألتین فانّما ینکر علی المصطفٰی صلّی اللہ علیہ وسلّم۔
“Our opinion too is the same about everyone (that he is a Muslim) who is asked, ‘Where is Allah?’ and hastily says, in accordance with his natural disposition, that He is in the heavens. In this hadith there are two issues. One is that it is legislated for a Muslim to ask, ‘Where is Allah?’ The second is that it is also legislated for the one who is asked to say that He is above the heavens. Whoever denies these two things will be denying the word of al-Mustafa ﷺ.”
Hadith No. 2:
عن أبی ھریرۃ رضی اللہ عنہ أنّ رسول اللہ صلّی اللہ علیہ وسلّم قال: یتعا قبون فیکم ملائکۃ باللّیل وملائکۃ بانّھار، ویجتمعون فی سلاۃ الفجر سلاۃ العصر ، چمکّ یعرج الّذین باتو ا فیکم ، فیسألھم، وھو أعلم بھم : کیف تر کتم عبادی ؟ یقوللون : تر کنا ھم وھم یصلّون ، وأتینا ھم وھم یصلوّن۔
“It is narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: Angels of the night and angels of the day keep coming and going among you. They gather together in the Fajr prayer and the Asr prayer. Then the angels who stayed with you during the night ascend. Allah Almighty, despite knowing better, asks them: In what state did you leave My servants? They say: We went to them while they were engaged in prayer, and when we left them, they were praying at that time as well.”
Hadith No. 3:
عن عبد اللہ بن عمر و أنّ رسول اللہ صلّی اللہ علیہ وسلّم قال: الرّاحمون یر حمھم الرّحمان، ارحمو امن فی الأرض یر حمکم من فی السّماء۔
“Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: The Most Merciful shows mercy only to those who show mercy. Show mercy to those on earth, and the One who is in the heavens will show mercy to you.”
Imam al-Tirmidhi (may Allah have mercy on him) called this hadith “hasan sahih” (good and authentic), and Imam al-Hakim (may Allah have mercy on him) (159/4) called it “sahih” (authentic). Its narrator Abu Qabus is “hasan al-hadith” (his hadiths are good); Imam al-Tirmidhi, Imam Ibn Hibban (may Allah have mercy on him) and others have declared him trustworthy.
Hadith No. 4:
عن جابر بن عبد اللہ أنّ رسول اللہ صلّی اللہ علیہ وسلّم قال فی خطبتہ یوعر فات: ؓتم تسألون عنّی،فماأنتم قائلون؟ قالوا: نشھد أنّک قد بلّغت وأدّیت ونصحت ، فقال : باصبعۃ السّبّابۃ یر فعھا الی السّماء و ینکتھا الی النّاس ؛ اللّٰھم اشھد، اللّٰھم اشھد ، ثلاث مرّات۔۔۔۔۔۔ “
“It is narrated from Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said in his sermon (of the Farewell Pilgrimage) on the day of Arafah: You will be asked about me (on the Day of Resurrection), what will you say? The noble Companions replied: We will testify that you conveyed (the religion), fulfilled (the trust of Allah) and gave sincere advice. He ﷺ raised his index finger towards the sky and pointed it towards the people, saying three times: O Allah, bear witness, O Allah, bear witness…..”
Hadith No. 5:
عن أنس مالک قال : کانت زینت بنت جحش تقول : انّ اللہ أنکحنی فی السّماء۔ ”
It is narrated from Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Mother of the Believers, Zaynab bint Jahsh (may Allah be pleased with her), used to say: Allah Almighty married me off above the heavens.”
Hadith No. 6:
عن أبی سعید الخدریّ قال : قال أنّ رسول اللہ صلّی اللہ علیہ وسلّم ألا تا منو نی وأنا امین من فی السّماء؟ یأتینی خبر السّماء صباومساءً۔۔۔۔۔
“Abu Sa’id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: Do you not consider me trustworthy, while I am the trustee of the One who is above the heavens? News from the heavens comes to me morning and evening.
”
Hadith No. 7:
عن أبی ھریرۃ قال: قال رسول اللہ صلّی اللہ علیہ وسلّم: والّذی نفسی بیدہ !مامن رجل ید عو امر أتہ الی فراشھا، فتأبی علیہ ، الّا کان الّذی فی السّما ء ساخطا علیھا، حتّی یر ضی عنھا۔
“Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: By the One in whose hand is my soul! There is no man who calls his wife to her bed and she refuses, except that the One who is above the heavens is angry with her, until the husband is pleased with her.”
Hadith No. 8:
عن أنس قال : أصابنا ونحن مع رسول اللہ صلّی اللہ علیہ وسلّم ، قال: فحسر رسول اللہ صلّی اللہ علیہ وسلّم ثوبہ ، حتّی أصابہ من المطر، فقلنا : یارسول اللہ !لم صنعت ھذا؟ قال: لأنّہ حدیث عھد بر بّہ عزّوجلّ۔
“Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that we were with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, when rain caught us. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ pulled back his garment until the rain water reached him. We said: O Messenger of Allah! Why did you do this? He said: Because this rain has only just come from its Lord, the Mighty and Majestic.”
Hadith No. 9:
عن أبی ھریۃ عن النّبیّ اللہ صلّی اللہ علیہ وسلّم قال: المیّتّ تحضرہ الملائکۃ، فاذا کان الرّجل صالحا، قالوا: اخرجی أیتھا النّفس الطّیّۃ کانت فی الجسد الطّیّب ، اخرجی حمیدۃ، وأبشری بروح وریحان وربّ غیر غضبان، فلا یزال یقال لھا حتّی تخرج ، ثمّ یعرج بھا الی السّماء ، فیفتح لھا، فیقال: من ھذا؟ فیقولون : فلان، فیقال: مر حبا بالنّفس الطّیّۃ، کانت فی الجسدالطّیّب، ادخلی حمیدۃ، وأبشری بروح وریحان وربّ غیر غضبان، فلا یزال یقال لھا ذلک، حتّی ینتھی بھا الی السّما ء الّتی فیھا اللہ عزّوجلّ۔۔۔
“Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates from the noble Prophet ﷺ that he said: Angels come to the one who is dying. If he is righteous, they say: O pure soul that was in a pure body! Come out in a praiseworthy state; for you is the good news of pleasant and fragrant breezes and of a Lord who is pleased and merciful. This is said to it continually, until it comes out of the body. Then it is raised up to the heaven, and the doors of the heaven are opened. It is asked: Who is this? The angels say: This is so-and-so. It is said: Welcome to the pure soul that was in a pure body! Enter in a praiseworthy state; for you is the good news of pleasant and fragrant breezes and of a merciful Lord. This is said to it continually, until it is brought to the heaven above which is Allah, the Mighty and Majestic.”
Hadith No. 10:
عن عامر سعد عن أبیہ قال: انّ سعد بن معاذ رضی اللہ عنہ حکم علی بنی قریظۃ أن یقتل منھم کلّ من جرت علیہ الموسیٰ ، وأن تقسم أموالھم وزراریھم، فذک ر ذلک برسول اللہ صلّی اللہ علیہ وسلّم ، فقال: لقد حکم الیوم فیھم بحکم اللہ الّذی حکم بہ من فوق السّماوات۔
“Amir bin Sa’d narrates from his father, who said: Sa’d bin Mu’adh (may Allah be pleased with him) judged concerning Banu Qurayzah that every one of their adult men be killed and that their wealth and children be distributed (among the Muslims). This judgment was reported to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and he said: Sa’d has judged according to the judgment of that Allah who made this judgment above the heavens.”
Hafiz al-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) declared this hadith “sahih (authentic)”.
تلک عشرۃ کاملۃ
These are ten complete sahih (authentic) hadiths!
