Affirmation of Istawa for Allah

Allah's Statement that "The Most Beneficent (Allah) Istawa (rose over) the (mighty) Throne (in a manner that suits His Majesty)" has occurred at seven places in the Quran. He said in Surah Al-A'raf; "Indeed your Lord is Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth in Six Days and then He Istawa (rose over) the Throne (really in a manner that suits His Majesty)." (7 :54); And in Surah Yunus, "Surely, your Lord is Allah who created the heavens the earth in Six Days and then Istawa (rose over) the Throne (really in a manner that suits His Majesty)." (10:3) and said in Surah Ar-Ra'd, "Allah is He Who raised the heavens without any pillars that you can see. Then, He Istawa (rose over) the Throne (really in a manner that suits His Majesty". (13:2); and said in Surah Ta-Ha, 'The Most Beneficent (Allah) Istawa (rose over) the (mighty). Throne (in a manner that suits His Majesty)." (20:5); and said in Surah Al-Furqan, "Then He Istawa (rose over) the Throne (in a manner that suits His Majesty)." (25:59); and said in Surah As-Sajdah "Allah it is He Who has created the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them in Six Days. Then He Istawa (rose over) the Throne (in a manner that suits His Majesty)". (32:4); and said in Surah Al-Hadid, "He it is Who created the heavens and the earth in Six Days and then Istawa (rose over) the Throne (in a manner that suits His Majesty)!' (57:4).


And He said, "And (remember) when Allah said: 'O 'Iesa (Jesus)! I will take you and raise you to Myself" (Surah Al-'lmran, 3:55); "But Allah raised him (Jesus) up (with his body and soul) unto Himself" (Surah An-Nisa, 4:158); "To Him ascend (all) the goodly words, and the righteous deeds exalt it"(Surah Fatir, 35:10); "O Haman! Build me a tower that I may arrive at the ways, the ways of the heavens, and I may look upon the Ilah (God) of Moses but verily, I think him to be a liar" (Surah Ghafir, 40:36,37); and He (Allah) said, "Do you feel secure that He, Who is over the heaven (Allah), will not cause the earth to sink with you, then behold it shakes (as in an earthquake)? Or do you feel secure that He, Who is over the heaven (Allah), will not send against you a violent whirlwind? Then you shall know how (terrible) has been My Warning?" (Surah Al-Mulk, 67:16,17).


Allah says: "The Most Beneficent (Allah) Istawa (rose over) the (mighty) Throne." These are those seven places in the Quran where Allah has given information about His rising over the Throne. The proof of lstawa (rising over) in each verse is definitive, for these are related to the Book of Allah. That is why the followers of the Jahmiyah sect, who believe in the negation of the Attributes of Allah, cannot refute and deny it. These verses are lucid in their subject that there is no scope for amplification here. When the word Istawa occurs in the dictionary as a transitive with the vowel 'Ala' then its only possible meanings are height and loftiness. That is why the Salaf have explained this word with four expressions. Allamah Ibn Al-Qaiyim has written in the Qasidah Nooniyah as follows:


There are four phrases used by the Salaf for this word which are used for a rider who is a lancer. The first is Istaqarra meaning that which has been proved; the second is 'ala meaning that which has been raised high; the third is Irtafa 'a which also means that which has been exalted, and this meaning is widely recognised. The fourth word is Sa'eda which means that which has climbed up the height. The contemporary of Abu Ubaidah Shaibani has favoured this meaning in his exegesis who knew the Quran better than the Jahmiyah.


Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama 'ah have faith in those things about which Allah has Himself informed such as, He is occupying the High position over the Throne and is separate from His creature. Allah, the Magnificent, Alone knows the state of lstawa as has been stated by Imam Malik etc., that 'Istawa is known but its state is unknown.' The noise that the followers of Ta 'teel make about the emergence of such mischiefs on Istawa being proved does not apply upon us for we do not say that the state of Allah rose over the Throne is like the domination over the creature by a creator.


These people who try to divert attention from the evident meaning of the clear Quranic verses with mischievous amplifications, only betray in their efforts their confused thinking, just as they make exegesis of Istawa with Istawla (dominated), or construe the word Ala as Ela which begins with Arabic letter equal to 'e' and explain the word Istawa in the sense of intention etc. All these have been transmitted by Zahid Kauthari who was a great standard bearer of Ta'teel and Tajahhum. But all these tantamount to adulteration and alteration of the truth which deserves no attention at all.


No one knows what these Mu 'attila want to say? Do they want to say that there is no Lord in the heaven Who intends or that there is no Object of worship in the heaven Who should be worshipped? Then where does He exist? May be our question regarding 'Where is He' appears ridiculous to them. But they have forgotten that the most perfect among the creatures and the most knowledgeable about their Lord, i.e. Muhammad (peace be upon him) de had put a question regarding Allah with the phrase, "Where is He?" He asked a slave girl 'Where is Allah?' and he felt pleased with her answer when she said, 'In the heaven.' Likewise he answered a questioner who had asked, 'Where was our Lord before creating the heavens and the earth? The Prophet (peace be upon him) Said 'In the clouds.' The narrative does not say that he had frowned upon the questioner or had said to him that he had put an absurd question.


The substance of the statement of these people regarding this problem is that 'Allah did exist but there was no space. Then He created space and He is at this time where He was before creating space.'


What do these conjecturers mean by saying that Allah was but there was no space. Do they mean by it the present existential space which is included in the circle of the universe. These places are subject to change and we do not say that Allah lives in any one of these, for nothing among His creatures can encompass Him.


And if from this they mean the space of non-existence which is an absolute void and in which there is no existence then it cannot be claimed about it that it did not exist and was created later for it has no bearing on creation; it is a problem of non-existence. If it is said that according to this meaning, Allah is in a place as is argued by the Quranic verses and the Ahadith then what is the difficulty in it. But the correct way to say is that Allah existed and nothing existed before Him. Then He created the earth and the heavens in six Days and His Throne was on the water, then He ascended Himself above the Throne. The Arabic word Thumma has been used to explain the sequence of time; its purpose is not limited only to make one sentence correspond to another.


Allay says, "'O Jesus!' etc." This and some Quranic verses after it have descended in support of the ascendence and rising of Allah over the Throne. They also refute the non-acceptance and denial of the Mu'attilah. In the first verse "O 'Iesa (Jesus)!" etc. Allah is giving a call to His Messenger Jesus, son of Mary, that He would lift him from this world towards Himself. This call was given at the time when the Jews had conspired to kill him, and in "and raise you to Myself " the pronoun is for Allah, the Magnificent. There is no doubt in it about being any other. To amplify that it means, 'towards My Mercy,' or 'towards the residence of My angels,' is irrelevant. The same could be said about that Statement of Allah which was revealed to refute the claim of the Jews that they had crucified Jesus and had killed him. Allah says, "But Allah raised him up unto Himself." The word Mutawaffeeka mentioned in the verse has had a controversial meaning. Thus, some have interpreted it to mean death, and most have said that this means sleep; and the word Wafaat has been used in this sense. Allah says:


"It is He who take your souls by night (when you are asleep), and has knowledge of all that you have done by day" (Surah Al-An 'am, 6:60).


Some also think that there is an element of sequence in the statement. The real passage should be "Indeed, I will raise you, and reach you up to death after that." The truth is that Jesus was lifted alive and will descend again when the Day of Judgement is close. This is the way it has been mentioned in authentic Hadith.


And Allah says, "To Him ascend the goodly words..." This verse is clear about ascending towards Allah with the words and deeds of slaves which the angels Kiraaman-Kaatibeen daily take after the Fajr Salaat (morning prayer) and the 'Asr Salaat (afternoon prayer). As has been mentioned in the Hadith:


"The angels who have spent the night with you ascend to the heaven and their Lord puts questions to them although He knows all that much beaer. 'In what condition did you leave my slaves?' They say, 'O our Lord! When we came to them they were offering prayers and when we left them, even then they were offering prayers'."


And Allah says, "(And Pharaoh said: O Haman,.." Allah describes the statement of the Pharaoh. This statement supports the fact that Moses had told the rebellious Pharaoh that his God lived in the heaven. Pharaoh intended to look for means to reach Him and by this he wanted only to hoodwink his community. He ordered his minister Haman to build a lofty tower for him and afterwards said, "though verily I consider him a liar." Now see who then more closely resembles and relates to Pharaoh? Is it we or the Mu'attilah? Pharaoh called Moses a liar on the grounds that the Lord of Moses was in the heaven. The Mu'attilah are saying the same thing. Allah says, "or do you... has been My Warning." Both these verses explain that Allah, the Magnificent, is in the heaven, and it is not justified to assume that this means doom, or command, or sovereignty as the Mu'attilah say. The reason is that Allah has used the word 'Man' which is used for one endowed with intelligence. So, to assume it to mean sovereignty without any context is to deviate from the obvious.


And from the Word of Allah "Fis Sama" it is not proper to understand that the sky is a container for Allah, the One free from all imperfection In fact the sky has this same obvious meaning. The word Fi in it has been used in the sense of 'Ala as Allah, the Exalted, says:


"And I will surely crucify you on the trunks of palm-trees" (Surah Ta-Ha, 20:71).


And if it means the direction of the height, then the word Fi will be interpreted in its real sense, that is, Allah, the Exalted, is in the highest loftiness.