**Istiwaa (Rise over) **
Proofs from the Qur’aan
Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):
- And (remember) when Allâh said: “O 'Iesa (Jesus)! I will take you and raise you to Myself and clear you…” [Surah al-'Imran:55]
- And He is the Irresistible, above (fawq) His slaves, and He is the All-Wise, Well¬Acquainted with all things. [Surah al-Anam:18]
- They fear their Lord above them, and they do what they are commanded. [Surah an-Nahl:50]
- Say (O Muhammad - sal-allahu 'alayhi wa salam) Ruh-ul-Qudus [Jibrael (Gabriel)] has brought it (the Qur’an) down from your Lord with truth, [Surah an-Nahl:102]
- To Him ascend (all) the goodly words, and the righteous deeds exalt it [Surah Fatir:10]
- Do you feel secure that He, Who is over the heaven (Allâh), will not cause the earth to sink with you … Or do you feel secure that He, Who is over the heaven (Allâh), will not send against you a violent whirlwind? [Surah al-Mulk:16-17]
- From Allâh, the Lord of the ways of ascent. The angels and the Rûh [Jibrael (Gabriel)] ascend to Him in a Day the measure whereof is fifty thousand years [Surah al-Mari’ij:3-4]
Proofs from the Sahih Sunnah
- It is narrated from Abu Hurairah (ra) that the Messenger of Allah (sal-allahu 'alayhi wa salam) said, "Two groups of angels come to you, one group in the night and one group in the day, they gather at the times of Fajr and Asr. The ones who spent the night rise to Allah and Allah asks them whilst he knows fully aware, "How did you leave my slaves.” The angels reply, “They were praying when we reached them and they were still praying when we left them.” [Humaam ibn Munabeh in 'Saheehfah as-Saadiqah’ (p.89), Ahmad in his ‘Musnad’, Ibn Khuzaimah in 'Kitaab at-Tawheed’ (p.78) Uthmaan Daarimee in ‘Radd Alal-Jahmiyyah’ (p.30)]
- Imaam adh-Dhahabee (rahimahullah) narrates from Abu Hurairah (ra), the Messenger of Allah (sal-allahu 'alayhi wa salam) said that Allah will say, “For the reason of my might, where are the people who love each other, today I will give them the shade of my Throne. Where there is no shade apart from my shade” (Hadeeth Mutawaatir). This establishes that the Throne is in fact real, and not something ‘metaphorical.’
- Abdullah bin Amr reported that the Prophet (sal-allahu 'alayhi wa salam) said: “Be merciful to those on earth, so that the One above the heavens will be merciful to you” [Bukhari/Muslim].
- Zaynab (rdiallahu anha), the wife of the Prophet (sal-allahu 'alayhi wa salam), used to claim excellence over the rest of his wives by telling them, “It is only your parents who gave you in marriage to the Prophet (sal-allahu 'alayhi wa salam), while it is Allah Who gave me in marriage to him from above the seven heavens” [Bukhari].
- Narrated Abu Huraira, “I heard Allah’s Messenger (sal-allahu 'alayhi wa salam) saying, Allah divided Mercy into one-hundred parts and He kept its ninety-nine parts with Him and sent down its one part on the earth, and because of that, its one single part, His creations are Merciful to each other, so that even the mare lifts up its hoofs away from its baby animal, lest it should trample on it” [Bukhari].
- Jabir ibn Abdullah said, “The Messenger of Allah (sal-allahu 'alayhi wa salam) said in his speech on the day of Arafah, ‘Did I convey (the message)?’ They said, ‘Yes.’ While raising his finger to the sky and then pointing at them, he said, ‘O my Lord, be a witness.’” [Muslim]
- Abu Sa’eed said that the Messenger of Allah (sal-allahu 'alayhi wa salam) said, “Do you not trust me when I am trusted by Him Who is above the heavens? Revelation comes to me day and night.” [Bukhari/Muslim]
- Abu Musa al-Ash’ari narrated that the Messenger said (sal-allahu 'alayhi wa salam), “Allah does not sleep and he ought not to. He descends the Qist (justice) and raises it up. Deeds of the night are ascended to Him before the day. His veil is Light, if He unveils it, the light of His Face will burn everything that sight reaches” [Muslim].
- Narrated Salman al-Farsi: The Prophet (sal-allahu 'alayhi wa salam) said: Your Lord is munificent and generous, and is shy to turn away empty the hands of His servant when he raises them to Him (Abu Dawud).
- Mu’awiyah as-Sahmi reported: “I had some sheep which I kept between Uhud and Juwaniyyah with a slave-girl to look after them. One day, I went out to check on my sheep and discovered that a wolf had devoured one of them. Since I am just a human, (I became angry) and struck the girl. Later on, I came to the Prophet (sal-allahu 'alayhi wa salam) and reported to him the incident. He terrified me with the gravity of my action. I said, ‘Messenger of Allah!’ Shall I free her (as an expiation of my sin.) He said ‘Call her over.’ When I did, he asked her, ‘Where is Allah?’ She said, ‘Above the heavens.’ [Note: according to other narrations she pointed the fingure up] Then he asked her, ‘Who am I?’ She said, 'The Messenger of Allah (sal-allahu 'alayhi wa salam). Thereupon, the Messenger of Allah (sal-allahu 'alayhi wa salam) ordered me, ‘Free her. She is a believer’” (Muslim, Abu Dawud, and others).
Among the benefits inherent to the last hadith (as mentioned by Muhammad bin Jamil Zeno in ‘The Pillars of Islam and Iman’- pub. Maktaba Dar-as-Salaam) are:
- The Companions of the Prophet used to refer to him all of their problems, whether minor or major. Hence, all issues for judgment should be referred to Allah and His Messenger, acting upon the Statement of Allah : “But no, by your Lord, they can have no Faith, until they make you (O Mohammed) a judge in all disputes between them, and find in themselves no resistance against your decisions, and accept (them) with full submission.” (V.4: 65)
- The Prophet reproached the Companion for slapping the slave-girl and considered it a serious matter.
- Belief is a condition for freeing a slave and since the Prophet allowed her to be free, she had to be judged a believer by the Prophet otherwise she would continue to be a slave.
- The necessity of asking about Tawheed (Islamic Monotheism); and part of it is the belief that Allah is above His Throne, knowledge of this being mandatory.
- The legitimacy of asking “Where is Allah?”; the fact that asking such is actually Sunnah, since the Prophet himself did not hesitate asking about it.
- The obligation of replying that Allah is above the heavens, since the Prophet affirmed the reply of the slave girl and it also goes along with the Statement of Allah in the Quran: “Do you feel secure that He, Who is over the heaven (Allah), will not cause the earth to sink with you?” (V. 67: 16)
- The correctness of Belief includes the testimony that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.
- The belief that Allah is above the heaven indicates soundness of one’s Belief, and it is mandatory on every believer to accept this position.
- The refutation of the erroneous belief that Allah is in every place by His Essence. The truth is that Allah is with us by His Knowledge not by His Supreme Self.
- The fact that the Prophet ordered for the slave-girl to be brought to her to allow him to test her shows that he did not possess the knowledge of the unseen [except of what Allah informed him. This refutes the claim of many Sufis and other Muslims that the Prophet had complete knowledge of the unseen].
Proofs from the Salaf
- In his speech subsequent to the death of the Prophet (sal-allahu 'alayhi wa salam), Abu Bakr as-Saddiq said: “He who was worshiping Muhammad (sal-allahu 'alayhi wa salam), (let him know that) Muhammad (sal-allahu ‘alayhi wa salam) is dead, and he who was worshiping Allah, (let him know that) Allah is above the heaven Ever-Living, never dies’”[Bukhari].
- Imaam adh-Dhahabee (rahimahullah) narrates from Ibn Abbaas (rahimahullah), “Before creating the creation, Allah was above His Throne. Then he created the Pen, and it wrote everything that would happen up until the Day of Judgement” (Bayhaqi in ‘Asmaa Was-Sifaat).
- Umar ibn al-Khattab visited Syria riding on his camel. The companions said to him: “O leader of the believers, will you not ride a Birthoun (a jade, horse of mean, non Arab breed) so you may be intercepted by the great and noted people.” Umar replied: "Do I not see you from here? Verily the matter comes from here" (and he pointed with his hand to the sky). [Ibn Qayyim in Ijtima al-Joyush al-Islamiyyah]
- As narrated by Al-Bayhaqi: “We [Tabi’oun] used to say, while at-Tabiyeen were still many, that Allah, all praise to Him, is upon His Throne. We believe in what the Sunnah has told us of His Attributes.” [Al-Uluw by At-Thahabee]
- Imam Abou Hanifa (radiallahu anho) said: “Whoever says that he does not know whether His Lord is above the heavens or on earth is a disbeliever (kafir!), because Allah has said (meaning): ‘The Ever-Merciful Istawa (rose) upon His Throne’ [20-5]. And His Throne is above the seven heavens.” Abu Muti al-Balkhi asked him: “What if says that yes Allah is upon His Throne but he does not know whether the throne is above the earth or on earth itself?” To which Abu Haneefa replied, “He is (still) a disbeliever (kafir), because he rejected that Allah is above the heavens , and that the creation make supplications above to their Lord and not downward.” [At-Thahabee in Al-Uluw]
- A woman asked Abu Haneefah, “Where is your Lord whom you worship” So he said, “Verily Allah the Exalted is above the sky (fis-samaa’), not in the earth.” So a man said to him, 'Have you seen the statement of Allah the Exalted, “And He is with you.” (57:4) He said, “He is as you are when you write to a man, ‘Verily I am with you,’ whilst you are absent from him” [al-Asmaa was-Sifaat].
- Imaam Maalik (radhiallahu anho) said, “Allah is Above the heaven, and His knowledge is in every place, nothing is hidden from Him.” ‘Sharh Usul I’tiqaad Ahlus Sunnah’ of al-Laalikaaee (d.414AH)].
- Imaam Malik (radhiallahu anho) said concerning the attribute of istiwaa: “Al-Istiwaa is known, and how is unknown, and to have imaan (faith) in it is obligatory, and to question it is an innovation”. Related by al-Bayhaqee in al-Asmaa was-Sifaat(p.516) with the wording: “Al-Istiwaa is not unknown and how is unknown, to have imaan in it is obligatory and to question it is an innovation”.
- Imam Shafi (radhiallahu anho) said: “The sunnah that we follow along with our companions, followers of hadith whom I met and took knowledge from, like Sufiyan [al-Thawri], Imam Malik, and others, is that we believe that there is no god except Allah and that Mohammed is His Messenger. And that Allah , the Praised One, is upon His Throne fis-sama (above the heavens). He comes closer to His slaves as He wills. Allah descends to the lower heaven as He wills.” [At-Thahabee in Al-Uluw]
- Imaam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (radhiallahu anho) was asked, “Allah is above the seventh heaven, above His Throne, distinct from his creation, and His Power and Knowledge are in every place?” And he replied, “Yes, above the Throne and His Knowledge is in every place” 'Sharh Usul I’tiqaad Ahlus Sunnah’of al-Laalikaaee ].
This is sufficient for those who are sincere and may Allah Ta’ala make us adhere to the correct 'aqeedah, ameen.