Imam Tahawi (MABH) writes in his book: «وهو مستغن عن العرش وما دونه، محیط بکل شیء وفوقه، وقد أعجز عن الإحاطة خلقه» Translation: “And Allah, the Exalted, is free from the Throne and what is beyond it; He encompasses everything and is above everything, and His creatures are helpless in surrounding Him.”
Imam Ash’ari (MABH) writes in his book Al-Ibanah fi Usool al-Diyanah: “If someone asks about the Estewa, we will say that Allah, the Exalted, has Estewa above the Throne.” He then cites several verses as evidence.
The summary of the view of the Ahl-sunnah wa-al Jama’ah is that all the attributes that Allah, the Exalted, has established for Himself are acknowledged, including Uluw and Estewa; however, according to the sayings of the predecessors, the quality of these attributes is unknown.
The Evidence of Ahl-sunnah wa-al Jama’ah
A) Quranic Verses
There are several types of evidence to prove the attributes of Uluw and Estewa of Allah Almighty, each of which we will explain separately:
1. Clarification of the Supremacy of Allah Almighty:
In some verses, Allah Almighty describes His supremacy: «یخافون ربهم من فوقهم ویفعلون ما یؤمرون»
Translation: “They (angels) fear their Lord, who is over them.”
«وهو القاهر فوق عباده وهو الحکیم الخبیر» Translation: “And He is the One Who is Dominant over His servants, and He is the Wise, the Knowing.”
2. Emphasis on the Ascent:
«تعرج الملائکة والروح إلیه في یوم کان مقداره خمسین ألف سنة» Translation: “The angels and the spirit will ascend to Him on a Day the measure of which is fifty thousand years.”
3. Emphasis on the Ascend: «إلیه یصعد الکلم الطیب والعمل الصالح یرفعه» Translation: “Pure speech ascends to Him, and [Allah] exalts the righteous deed.”
4. Explanation of the Word “Estewa”: There are several verses on this subject as well: «الرحمن علی العرش استوی» Translation: “The Most Gracious has ascended to the Throne.”
B) Hadiths of the Prophet (PBUH)
Umar ibn Hakam (MABH) reported: I was with the Messenger of Allah (PBUH), and I came to him and said: “O Messenger of Allah, I have a slave girl who is herding my sheep. One day I came to her and saw that one of the sheep was not in the flock. I asked where the sheep was. She said: ‘A wolf had eaten it.’ I became angry, and, as I am a human being, I slapped her hard on the face, resulting in the obligation of freeing a slave upon me. Can I free that slave girl?” The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) then asked the slave girl: “Where is Allah?” She responded: “In the sky.” He asked: “Who am I?” She replied: “You are the Messenger of Allah.” He then said: “Free her. This slave girl is a believer.”
Imam Usman bin Saeed Darimi writes in his book Al-Ra’ad Ala Al-Jahmiyyah regarding this hadith: “This hadith of the Prophet (PBUH) is evidence that if someone does not know that Allah is in the heavens and not on the earth, then he is not considered a believer. If he was a slave, he was freed, and his freedom is not valid in place of a believer’s slave, as he does not know that Allah is in the heavens.”
Hazrat Anas bin Malik (MABH) narrated that Hazrat Zaynab bint Jahsh (may Allah be pleased with her) would boast about the wives of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) and would say: “Your families have brought you [in marriage to Allah’s Messenger (PBUH)]; but Allah the Most High has brought me in marriage to Allah’s Messenger (PBUH) from above the seven heavens.”
C) Sayings of the Salaf (Righteous Predecessors)
The sayings of the righteous predecessors regarding the proof of the attributes of Uluw and Jahmiyyah, as well as the Estewa of Allah the Highest, are very numerous. Among them, Sheikh al-Islam Abu Ismail al-Ansari narrated in his book Al-Faruq, through his chain of transmission up to Abu Mati’ al-Balkhi, that he asked [Imam] Abu Hanifa (MABH) about someone who said, “I do not know whether my Lord is in the heavens or on the earth.” [Imam] Abu Hanifa (MABH) replied, “He has disbelieved, because Allah the Almighty has said: «الرحمن علی العرش استوی » Translation: “The Most Gracious has ascended to the Throne.”
It is narrated that a person came to Imam Malik ibn Anas (MABH), and after reciting this verse, «الرحمن علی العرش استوی» Translation: “The Most Gracious has ascended to the Throne,” he asked, “What is the Estewa?” The narrator says, “I have never seen Imam Malik (MABH) so angry that his sweat started flowing.” The people lowered their heads and waited to see what he would say. Finally, the Imam raised his head and said: “Its quality is incomprehensible; the Estewa is not known, believing in it is obligatory, and questioning about it is an innovation. I fear that this person is misguided.” He then ordered that person to be expelled.
Abdullah bin Mubarak (MABH) said: “We know that our Lord is above the seven heavens, and He is on the Throne, and He is distinct from His creatures, and we do not believe, as the Jahmiyyah say, that the Almighty Allah is here” – he pointed to the earth.
Sheikh Hafiz bin Ahmad Hakimi (MABH) wrote in his book The Published Sunnah for the Belief of the Saved and Victorious Sect regarding the view of the Imams and the righteous predecessors: “Everyone agrees that the Estewa is not known, its quality is incomprehensible, believing in it is obligatory, and questioning about it is an innovation. It is a message from Allah the Almighty and from the Messenger of Allah (PBUH), and it is obligatory for us to acknowledge and submit.”
The Salaf (may Allah bless them) did not state a quality for the attribute of Estewa, nor did they compare it to anything, nor did they cite an example for it, nor did they distort it in such a way as to cause the attribute to be negated.
Note: After reading this article, some people may raise the doubt that if the predecessors of the Hanafis and other Sunni schools of thought believed in the absence of interpretation, then why did their successors interpret and justify some of the attributes?
In response to this doubt, it should be said: In fact, the Hanafi and other Sunni schools of thought do not interpret; but after theologians, non-Muslim philosophers, and other rationalists turned to incorrect interpretations and tried to justify and misinterpret the attributes of Allah Almighty for people, later scholars justified and interpreted some of them in order to prevent this phenomenon and to help people understand and be aware of these attributes as much as possible.
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