Rahman is Seated Upon the Throne (20:5)

 

بِسۡمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِیۡمِ

Allāh azza wa jall says in His final Book:

اَلرَّحۡمٰنُ عَلَی الۡعَرۡشِ اسۡتَوٰی

Rahmān has settled Himself on the Throne

(Sūrah 20:5)

We Muslims must interpret this to mean that Allāh Most High is seated upon His Throne. We find this belief established in the Scriptures of old:

It is written in the Psalms:

אֱ֝לֹהִ֗ים יָשַׁ֤ב עַל־כִּסֵּ֬א קָדְשֹֽׁו

God sits upon the throne of his holiness

(Psalm 47:8)

The ancient prophet Micaiah (peace be upon him) said:

רָאִ֤יתִי אֶת־יְהוָה֙ יֹשֵׁ֣ב עַל־כִּסְאֹ֔ו וְכָל־צְבָ֤א הַשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙ עֹמֵ֣ד עָלָ֔יו מִימִינֹ֖ו וּמִשְּׂמֹאלֹֽו

I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left

(1 Kings 22:19; 2 Chronicles 18:18)

The prophet Isaiah (peace be upon him) said:

וָאֶרְאֶ֧ה אֶת־אֲדֹנָ֛י יֹשֵׁ֥ב עַל־כִּסֵּ֖א רָ֣ם וְנִשָּׂ֑א וְשׁוּלָ֖יו מְלֵאִ֥ים אֶת־הַהֵיכָֽל

I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple

(Isaiah 6:1)

Daniel (peace be upon him) said:

חָזֵ֣ה הֲוֵ֗ית עַ֣ד דִּ֤י כָרְסָוָן֙ רְמִ֔יו וְעַתִּ֥יק יֹומִ֖ין יְתִ֑ב

I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit

(Daniel 7:9)

The Hebrew verb yashab means “to sit, remain, dwell” (Strong’s Concordance, #3427)

And Jesus is quoted as saying:

And he that shall swear by heaven, swears by the throne of God, and by him that sits thereon (Matthew 23:22)

The Greek word kathémai means “to be seated” (Strong’s Concordance, #2521)

It is reported that Tha’labah b. al-Hakam (radi Allāhu anhu) narrated the following Hadīth Qudsi from the Prophet (sall Allāhu alaihi wasallam):

يَقُولُ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ ‌لِلْعُلَمَاءِ ‌يَوْمَ ‌الْقِيَامَةِ ‌إِذَا ‌قَعَدَ ‌عَلَى ‌كُرْسِيِّهِ ‌لِفَصْلِ ‌عِبَادِهِ إِنِّي لَمْ أَجْعَلْ عِلْمِي وَحِلْمِي فِيكُمْ إِلَّا وَأَنَا أُرِيدُ أَنْ أَغْفِرَ لَكُمْ عَلَى مَا كَانَ فِيكُمْ وَلَا أُبَالِي

“Allāh azza wa jall, when seated on His chair to judge His slaves on the Day of Resurrection, will say to the Ulamā: I blessed you with My knowledge and My kind forbearance in order to pardon you despite your faults, and I care not, as to the magnitude of your sins, as forgiving you is of no consequence to Me” (al-Mu’jam al-Kabīr; v.2, p.84, #1381)

al-Mundhiri declared all the narrators to be trustworthy (at-Targhīb wat-Tarhīb; v.1, p.57, #32):

Likewise, al-Haythami declared all the narrators to be trustworthy (Majma az-Zawā’id; v.1, p.126):

However, the chain contains a narrator, al-Alā b. Maslamah, regarding whom it is said that he was a fabricator. Nevertheless, the statement “Allāh seated on His chair” is truth.

Khārijah bin Mus’ab asked rhetorically:

‌وَهَلْ ‌يَكُونُ ‌الاسْتِوَاءُ ‌إِلَّا ‌الْجُلُوسُ

And is Istiwā anything but sitting? (as-Sawā’iq al-Mursalah, v.4, p.1303):