Exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: "The Most Merciful rose over the Throne." And mention of issues related to rising above the Throne.
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The Shaykh : This means He is the Most Merciful who revealed this Qur'an, and in this is an indication that Allah revealed this Qur'an as a mercy to the worlds, and so it is. In His revealing of the Qur'an, Allah showed us the greatest mercy. We ask Allah to make us and you among those who were guided by it. [Taha 20:5] The Throne: It is the great creation that encompasses the heavens, the Footstool, the earths, and everything, because if the Footstool is as it is authentically reported from Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) that it is the place of the feet, the feet of the Lord (Mighty and Majestic), and His feet (Glorified and Exalted is He) do not resemble the feet of the created beings, then the Throne is greater and greater. For this reason, it came in the hadith: Sahih Ibn Hibban 6:55 How much greater is the expanse than what a human can imagine! Take a small ring from a shield, which is very small, and place it in a wide, open desert. How much of the land does it occupy? Answer, everyone! Nothing. This is with regard to the Footstool. And the superiority of the Throne over the Footstool is like the superiority of the desert over this ring. Allah is the Greatest. Glory to the Creator, the All-Knowing. The Most Merciful rose over the Throne, over this great creation. 'Rose' means He rose above it, He is high above it. And here is a question: Are we required to ask from what the Throne was created? Do we have the right to ask from what it was created? Pay attention, O grammarian: I said first 'Are we required' and I said second 'Do we have the right.' Is there a difference between them?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Yes, please go ahead.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Yes.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Or is it permissible for us? May Allah bless you. Well done. If we say 'Are we required,' meaning are we obligated to ask about this Throne, what is it made of? Gold? Silver? Pearls? Turquoise? No, that is not required of us. Do we have the right to ask? Is it permissible to ask? No, we do not ask. Glory to Allah, why do we not ask? For two reasons: The first reason is that those who are better than us and more eager than us for knowledge, and they are the Companions, did not ask the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about that. And they are, by Allah, better than us and more eager for knowledge than we are, and yet they did not say, 'O Messenger of Allah, what is this Throne and where is it from?'
Second: This is among the matters of the unseen, and the etiquette of the believer regarding the matters of the unseen is to believe in them without asking about the modality, because these are matters of the unseen. If there had been any benefit for us in explaining their modality, Allah would have explained it to us. So asking about it is not praiseworthy, and we do not have the right to ask for two reasons?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Perfect, good. First, because the Companions did not ask, and they were more eager for knowledge than we are. And second, because this is among the matters of the unseen that we are obligated to believe in as they came, without asking. For asking is excessive strictness, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:.
The Most Merciful
الرحمنThe Most Merciful [who is] above the Throne established.
الرحمن على العرش استوىThe seven heavens and the seven earths in the Footstool are like
ما السماوات السبع والأراضون السبع في الكرسي إلاa ring cast into a vast desert
إلا كحلقة ألقيت في فلاةAnd the excess of the Throne over the Footstool is like the excess of the desert over this ring.
وإن فضل العرش على الكرسي كفضل الفلاة على هذه الحلقةThe student: ... .
The Shaykh : Yes, please go ahead.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Yes.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Or is it permissible for us? May Allah bless you. Well done. If we say 'Are we required,' meaning are we obligated to ask about this Throne, what is it made of? Gold? Silver? Pearls? Turquoise? No, that is not required of us. Do we have the right to ask? Is it permissible to ask? No, we do not ask. Glory to Allah, why do we not ask? For two reasons: The first reason is that those who are better than us and more eager than us for knowledge, and they are the Companions, did not ask the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about that. And they are, by Allah, better than us and more eager for knowledge than we are, and yet they did not say, 'O Messenger of Allah, what is this Throne and where is it from?'
Second: This is among the matters of the unseen, and the etiquette of the believer regarding the matters of the unseen is to believe in them without asking about the modality, because these are matters of the unseen. If there had been any benefit for us in explaining their modality, Allah would have explained it to us. So asking about it is not praiseworthy, and we do not have the right to ask for two reasons?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Perfect, good. First, because the Companions did not ask, and they were more eager for knowledge than we are. And second, because this is among the matters of the unseen that we are obligated to believe in as they came, without asking. For asking is excessive strictness, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: