Allah's Mighty Throne
In the Seventh Heaven, of course!
By Abul Kasem
Does Allah have an executive office (Arsh’
or Throne)? Does
Allah have a desk, chair, and a diary – a super-duper one --
to manage His affairs of heaven and earth?
Where is His Throne?
How does it look like?
Does Allah have secretaries and personal assistants?
Have Allah hands, feet, and eyes?
Does Allah have telephones, fax machines, PCs, PDAs, the
Internet, and all other office equipment that are used by every
executive in a modern office?
Nay, He does not need them because there are no
earthlings who know how to fix them because Murphy’s Law is
supposed to work everywhere and yes that includes Allah’s Arsh’
too!
All those questions are silly and
blasphemous no doubt, aren’t they?
A good Muslim should never ask such silly questions.
The Holy Quran clearly admonishes asking such questions
because these are not permitted (5:101, 102), for the fear that
if you ask such silly questions you may end up losing your
faith. That is the
worst crime a man can commit.
Therefore, you had better watch out!
[5:101 O ye who believe! Ask not questions
About things which, If made plain to you, May cause you trouble.
But if ye ask about things When the Qur’an is being Revealed,
they will be Made plain to you, God will forgive those: For God
is Oft-forgiving, Most Forbearing]
A very clever ploy indeed!
Fear tactics would work if not for all folks but for
many.
[5:102 Some people before you Did ask such
questions, And on that account Lost their faith]
Are there any hard references on this?
These days, even a court in Timbuktu will not entertain
any quotation, hearsay, etc., without hard evidence.
Therefore, such vague reference about “Some people
before you Did ask such questions…” won’t fly anywhere
except in the realm of Blind
Faith.
Many Islamic scholars, Maulanas, Mullahs
will simply scoff at you if you put such questions to them. Many
Tafsirs
(explanations) of the Holy Qur’an try to avoid those questions
by simply saying that the verses containing mentions of Allah's
throne are actually allegorical, mystic, figurative, symbolic,
sublime, parables...blah, blah, blah… anything that gives you
the impression that Allah's throne is not for real but only an
imaginary concept of the authority of Allah over all affairs of
His creation. They
will vehemently oppose any such idea that Allah really has a
physical existence and that His executive office (Throne) is a
real physical entity which actually exists somewhere in the
heaven.
Are those explanations by the Mullahs
correct? To find
the truth, we just need to look at the Qur’an and the Hadith
in detail and see for ourselves how these Mullahs mislead the
people to believe in their interpretations.
Let us tour the Qur’an and the Sahih Bukhari to see for
ourselves how does the executive office or Arsh’
of Allah look like.
The
Qur’an
·
Allah really has
a physical office. His
office is huge and He does work 24/7/365 and He never gets tired
He has a huge desk that extends over the heavens.
[al-Baqarah
2:255] God! There is no god but He,-the Living, the
Self-subsisting, Eternal. No slumber can seize Him nor sleep.
His are all things in the heavens and on earth. Who is there can
intercede in His presence except as He permitteth? He knoweth
what (appeareth to His creatures as) before or after or behind
them. Nor shall they compass aught of His knowledge except as He
willeth. His Throne doth extend over the heavens and the earth,
and He feeleth no fatigue in guarding and preserving them for He
is the Most High, the Supreme (in glory).
·
Allah raised
heaven without pillars, established His throne and He manages
all affairs from this office. He also has communication tools
(like fax, telephone Internet, satellite.......?) to send and to
explain His messages.
[ar-Ra`d
13:2] God is He Who raised the heavens without any pillars
that ye can see; is firmly established on the throne (of
authority); He has subjected the sun and the moon (to his Law)!
Each one runs (its course) for a term appointed. He doth
regulate all affairs, explaining the signs in detail, that ye
may believe with certainty in the meeting with your Lord.
·
Allah's office
has tight security. He can see everything on earth from His
office. He is firmly established on the throne
[al-Furqan
25:59] He Who created the heavens and the earth and all that
is between, in six days, and is firmly established on the Throne
(of Authority): God Most Gracious: ask thou, then, about Him of
any acquainted (with such things).
[as-Sajdah
32:4] It is God Who has created the heavens and the earth,
and all between them, in six Days, and is firmly established on
the Throne (of Authority): ye have none, besides Him, to protect
or intercede (for you): will ye not then receive admonition?
[al-Hadid
57:4] He it is Who created the heavens and the earth in Six
Days, and is moreover firmly established on the Throne (of
Authority). He knows what enters within the earth and what comes
forth out of it, what comes down from heaven and what mounts up
to it. And He is with you wheresoever ye may be. And God sees
well all that ye do.
·
Allah has a
throne high above all ranks
·
[al-Mu'min
40:15] Raised high above ranks (or degrees), (He is) the
Lord of the Throne (of Authority): by His Command doth He send
the Spirit (of inspiration) to any of His servants he pleases,
that it may warn (men) of the Day of Mutual Meeting,-
·
Is
Allah's throne Octagonal in shape/does Allah has eight personal
secretaries?
[al-Haqqah
69:17] And the angels will be on its sides, and eight will,
that Day, bear the Throne of thy Lord above them.
Sahih
Bukhari
·
Allah's throne
has legs and sides. Moses will be holding the side and a leg of
Allah's throne. You don't believe? See for yourself this Hadith!
Volume 3, Book 41, Number 594:
Narrated Abu Huraira:
Two persons, a Muslim
and a Jew, quarrelled. The Muslim said, "By Him Who gave
Muhammad superiority over all the people! The Jew said, "By
Him Who gave Moses superiority over all the people!" At
that the Muslim raised his hand and slapped the Jew on the face.
The Jew went to the Prophet and informed him of what had
happened between him and the Muslim. The Prophet sent for the
Muslim and asked him about it. The Muslim informed him of the
event. The Prophet said, "Do not give me superiority over
Moses, for on the Day of Resurrection all the people will fall
unconscious and I will be one of them, but I will. be the first
to gain consciousness, and will see Moses standing and holding
the side of the Throne (of Allah). I will not know whether
(Moses) has also fallen unconscious and got up before me, or
Allah has exempted him from that stroke."
·
Where is the
exact location of Allah's throne? This question is also answered
in Sahih Bukhari. Allah's throne is above Al-firdaus (the
highest of heavens) and Allah's throne is the origin of the
river of paradise.
Volume 4, Book 52, Number 48:
Narrated Abu Huraira:
The Prophet said,
"Whoever believes in Allah and His Apostle, offer prayer
perfectly and fasts the month of Ramadan, will rightfully be
granted Paradise by Allah, no matter whether he fights in
Allah's Cause or remains in the land where he is born." The
people said, "O Allah's Apostle ! Shall we acquaint the
people with this good news?" He said, "Paradise has
one-hundred grades which Allah has reserved for the Mujahidin
who fight in His Cause, and the distance between each of two
grades is like the distance between the Heaven and the Earth.
So, when you ask Allah (for something), ask for Al-firdaus which
is the best and highest part of Paradise." (i.e. The
sub-narrator added, "I think the Prophet also said, 'Above
it (i.e. Al-Firdaus) is the Throne of Beneficent (i.e. Allah),
and from it originate the rivers of Paradise.")
·
Since the river
of paradise originates from Allah's throne, so logically,
Allah's throne is over the water (something like a floating
water lotus we see in some idols in Hindu scriptures). Allah
even has an official diary where He keeps records of His
creations.
Volume 4, Book 54, Number 414:
Narrated Imran bin
Husain:
I went to the Prophet
and tied my she-camel at the gate. The people of Bani Tamim came
to the Prophet who said "O Bani Tamim! Accept the good
tidings." They said twice, 'You have given us the good
tidings, now give us something" Then some Yemenites came to
him and he said, "Accept the good tidings, O people of
Yemem, for Bani Tamim refused them." They said, "We
accept it, O Allah's Apostle! We have come to ask you about this
matter (i.e. the start of creations)." He said, "First
of all, there was nothing but Allah, and (then He created His
Throne). His throne was over the water, and He wrote everything
in the Book (in the Heaven) and created the Heavens and the
Earth." Then a man shouted, "O Ibn Husain! Your
she-camel has gone away!" So, I went away and could not see
the she-camel because of the mirage. By Allah, I wished I had
left that she-camel (but not that gathering).
Narrated 'Umar: One day
the Prophet stood up amongst us for a long period and informed
us about the beginning of creation (and talked about everything
in detail) till he mentioned how the people of Paradise will
enter their places and the people of Hell will enter their
places. Some remembered what he had said, and some forgot it.
·
The title of
Allah's diary is "My mercy overpowers My Anger".
Allah keeps His diary on His throne (Arsh’).
Volume 9, Book 93, Number 501:
Narrated Abu Huraira:
The Prophet said,
"When Allah created the Creation, He wrote in His Book--and
He wrote (that) about Himself, and it is placed with Him on the
Throne--'Verily My Mercy overcomes My Anger.'"
·
Allah has two
hands. Both of His
hands are busy. Unbelievable,
you say. See this
Hadith.
·
Volume
9, Book 93, Number 515:
Narrated Abu Huraira:
The Prophet said,
"The Right (Hand) of Allah Is full, and (Its fullness) is
not affected by the continuous spending night and day. Do you
see what He has spent since He created the Heavens and the
Earth? Yet all that has not decreased what is in His Right Hand.
His Throne is over the water and in His other Hand is the Bounty
or the Power to bring about death, and He raises some people and
brings others down." (See Hadith No. 508)
·
The sun
prostrates and takes a rest underneath the throne of Allah (that
is, under water) and waits for the green signal from Allah to go
back to work again. One day this green signal may not be given
Volume 4, Book 54, Number 421:
Narrated Abu Dhar:
The Prophet asked me at
sunset, "Do you know where the sun goes (at the time of
sunset)?" I replied, "Allah and His Apostle know
better." He said, "It goes (i.e. travels) till it
prostrates Itself underneath the Throne and takes the permission
to rise again, and it is permitted and then (a time will come
when) it will be about to prostrate itself but its prostration
will not be accepted, and it will ask permission to go on its
course but it will not be permitted, but it will be ordered to
return whence it has come and so it will rise in the west. And
that is the interpretation of the Statement of Allah: "And
the sun Runs its fixed course For a term (decreed). that is The
Decree of (Allah) The Exalted in Might, The All-Knowing."
(36.38)
Nowhere in the Qur’an
and Sahih Bukhari Allah says that the concept of His throne is
only conceptual (mystical, spiritual, figurative. .... etc.) and
not literal. All
the above quoted verses and the Ahadith clearly demonstrates
that the concept of Allah's throne is real and Allah does have a
physical office no matter how much absurd we may think.
The merciful Prophet had to give his original handful
illiterate converts a vivid picture of Allah and His managerial
office. The
unlettered and uneducated Bedouins could never understand
Mohammed's view of Allah if he did not give them a mental
picture of his God (Allah) which somehow or other may resemble
some form of deity that were prevalent during those days.
Read those verses and the Ahadith again and what picture
do you get of Allah? Do
you remember any of the pictures of gods and goddesses that you
saw in Hindu/other religious scriptures?
Do you recall the picture of a woman with a sword in one
hand and a balance in the other?
Yes, that is it. Mohammad
borrowed these pictures from the Greek pantheons and possibly,
from Hindu scriptures so that his early converts could have an
easy mental glimpse of his Allah.
This was the only way he could attract converts.
The idea of a shapeless, formless, omniscient,
all-powerful mighty Allah was too difficult for the uncultured
Arab Bedouins to understand during merciful Prophet's time.
Is Allah reading this
essay? Which Dojok
(Hell) will be reserved for this scribe?
Got any clues?
A
cautionary note.
The
readers should note that the explanations given inside the
brackets (.......)
in the translation of the Quran and the Sahih Bukhari are the
opinions of the translators. There is no such parenthesis in the
original Holy Scriptures. You must take those explanations with
many grains of salt. Most of the time they twist the original
message to suit the agenda of the translator. You really do not
need to be a Nuclear Physicist or a rocket scientist to
understand the Qur’an and Hadith. Most of the meanings are
quite straightforward.
Quran
translation is by A. Yusufali.
Sahih
Bukhari translation is by Dr. M. Muhsin Khan
------------------------
Abul Kasem writes from Sydney, Australia.
Comments could be directed at - [email protected]
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