Discussion of the attribute of Allah’s (Mighty and Majestic) rising above the Throne and His elevation above His creation, mentioning the methodology of the people of innovation regarding this, their evidence, and the refutation of them.

The Shaykh : The majority of Muslims, both past and present, especially the righteous Salaf, denied that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has the attribute of rising above His creation and elevation above His created things. They denied this, even though there are many verses that speak of this reality: ; so what did they do? They also engaged in figurative interpretation. They interpreted the verse: to mean "he took control." They brought a poem, a verse of poetry whose authenticity is unknown to Allah, and they said:
"Bishr took control of Iraq *** without blood or a sword being shed"
without a sword or blood being shed
So, with this poetry, they want to prove that "istawa" (to be established) means "istawla" (to take control). We say to them: You have gained nothing; because the Salaf do not deny that the word "istawa" can mean "istawla." Just as you have gained nothing from this verse of poetry if you want to prove to us that "istawa" sometimes means "istawla," we congratulate you on this meaning. But do you not believe with us that "istawa" also means "istala" (to be elevated)?! You will say: Yes, that is necessary. So, what is the difference between interpreting "istawa" as "istala," the Salafi interpretation from which you fled to your interpretation of "istawa" as "istawla"? What is the difference between the two sides, since both attributes can be ascribed to creation? That is, you say: "He was established on the Throne," meaning: "He took control." A very strong objection is raised against you, more dangerous than your objection to... acknowledging that our Lord (Mighty and Majestic) in some of the verses of the Throne and His rising above it said: . If you interpret "istawa" as "istawla," and this taking control comes after the conjunction "thumma" (then), which implies delay, this means you have imagined the universe to be empty, even for the blink of an eye, a moment in time, of Allah taking control of it; because He created the Throne, then He was established, and after that He took control of it, in moments of a day... and so on. This means you have not affirmed the overpowering nature of Allah in a continuous, uninterrupted manner. So what do you gain from this interpretation?
They said: No, we do not say "istawa" means "istawla" like the taking control of humans over... Glory be to Allah! Leave... the Salafiyyah, say: "istawa" means "istala," not like the elevation of kings over their thrones, and this... the Salaf, they gained nothing except that first they distorted the words from their places without benefit, and secondly they brought calamities from which they would have been at ease if they had said as the Salaf said: "Then He was established" meaning "He was elevated"; because this is drawing near to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) like His coming and descending. If you say: He was not descending before His descent, there is no harm in this belief, because this does not contain... for Him in His dominion. But if you say: "Then He took control," how... especially the verse of poetry implies that before Bishr’s taking control of Iraq, there was... one who had taken control of it, so he rose up in a revolution or prepared an army, and Bishr overcame Iraq.