Affirming the Attribute of Rising Above the Throne

Question:
May Allah reward you. This questioner says: Honorable Shaykh, I read about istiwaa' (rising above the Throne), and about Allah’s istiwaa' upon His Throne, that it is a special elevation befitting the majesty and greatness of Allah the Exalted. We hope you will kindly clarify this.

Answer:
The Exaltedness of Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) above His creations is an attribute of His essence, an attribute of His essence for Him (Glorified and Exalted is He). So He is High above His creation, above them (Glorified and Exalted is He). As for rising above the Throne, it is an attribute of action that He does whenever He wills, He does it whenever He wills. For this reason, it was ordered with "then" after the creation of the heavens and the earth: the Throne. So rising above the Throne is an attribute of action that He does whenever He wills, whereas His Exaltedness is an attribute of essence that does not separate from Him (Glorified and Exalted is He). So He is always and forever above His creations, High above His heavens (Glorified and Exalted is He).