In answer to the video "The Mysterious Letters in the Quran"
2:255"His chair (kursiyyahu) extends over the heavens and the earth"
20:5"The Beneficent One, Who is established (istawa) on the Throne (arsh)"
7:54"Surely your Lord is Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth in six periods of time, and He is firm in power (thumma istawa alal arsh)"
In all the seven instances where God is spoken of in the Quran as "istawa alal arsh/established on the throne" 7:54,10:3,13:2,20:5,25:59,32:4,57:4 this expression is connected with a declaration of His having created the universe. Nothing symbolizes dominion more in human psyche than the image of a powerful king sitting on his throne and ruling his kingdom. Allah however is not like any human king. He is the King of Kings Who not only possesses a mighty throne, but is the sustainer of that throne
23:116"So exalted be Allah, the True King; no god is there but He, the Lord of the Throne/arsh".
This means, despite Him being the absolute ruler of all that exists, He stands by Himself and does not need the support of a throne. This is a major point in the Quran's depiction of creation. At no point is there any hint or reference to God needing a time of rest, or break from a tiresome endeavour.
As to the statement "established over/on" that generally accompanies the mention of the throne, it does not entail "sitting". It is important to emphasize, whenever there is mention of Allah being in a location, the only understanding that is open to us is in terms of implication relevant to each context. The "how" is beyond any human being's grasp since outside our experience. This, again, is a principle of interpretation established in the Quran and the teachings of the prophet.
For instance it says Allah is at all times nearer than one's jugular vein 50:16. The implication is that His knowledge and control encompass every aspect of every human being's life, at each instant of their existence. It also says Allah's face is visible wherever one looks 2:115. How is Allah's face simultaneously present in whatever direction one lays his eyes is beyond human understanding but the implications are clear; the spiritually aware perceives in all aspects of creation and at all moments the divine will and design. Interestingly, in the very verse talking of Allah's establishing Himself above the throne, it says
57:4"He is with you wherever you are".
Again, His simultaneous presence above the throne and with every human at all moment shows that He is absolutely transcendent, unbound by space and time, or any other type of restriction. This is an unfathomable notion to our minds, hence the uselessness of seeking the "how". The implications of that statement however are clear; God has unrestricted sway over all that exists, including the throne itself which is a creation.
God's presence, not appearance, during His communion with Moses follows this exact pattern of religious terminology 27:7-9,28:29-30.
The same understanding applies to the hadith describing Allah descending
"every night to the lowest heaven when one-third of the night remains"
so as to bless and forgive those that request it. Just as Allah is closer, at each instant, than the jugular vein, with all humans wherever they are, His face simultaneously visible all around us at all moments, all the while being established over the throne, His presence in the lowest heaven at a certain point in time is an unfathomable concept to the human mind. The implications of the statement however is understood by the information provided; such descent is accompanied by a manifestation of His attribute of mercy which is more prominent during that interval to those that seek it.
The Quran, as well as the prophet, draw the boundaries of our understanding of those verses. What we can seek to understand, and what is a fruitless effort, as pointed to earlier. Him encompassing all of existence from close and far simultaneously, as well as being in a certain place at a certain time, is unlike any concept we can imagine. We can however understand the implications of those descriptions.
Again, when Allah 87:1"the Most High" is 6:61,16:50"above" or in the heavens (which He created), the expression is understood as denoting his all encompassing sway and dominion, that there cannot be something higher than Him in the sense of perfection, exaltedness. Such verses cannot be taken in isolation of the principles of interpretation mentioned earlier, as well as the numerous statements of Allah's all encompassing presence unrestricted by time and space. In fact, in connection to Allah being "above", we read that He does not "reside" in a fixed place
6:3"He is Allah in the heavens and in the earth".We find in certain passages of the HB principles that similarly protect divine transcendance despite descriptions of God acting within time and space. Among such restrictive verses we read that
Isa33:5"The Lord is exalted, for He dwells on high".
That dwelling place is somewhere in the
Amos9:6"upper stories in Heaven"
which He has built. These chambers are above the solid canopy of the earth upon which He sometimes sits Isa40:22,Ps104 in order to
Ps33:13-14"oversees all the inhabitants of the earth".
The heavens strictly belong to him, while humans were made for the earth Ps115:16. In a closer sense, in the context of the Temple of Jerusalem, God is said to dwell among His people 1kings8:27. This is where the prophet Solomon salvages divine transcendance and provides an axiom by which to understand such "restrictive" Biblical verses. He states here that no location on the earth and neither of "the heaven of heavens" can contain Him. By definition, infinity cannot be limited in quantity or quality. This passage, which is in congruence with the Islamic principles mentioned earlier, refute the Hellenistic misappropriation of the HB by the NT authors. Jesus being fully God limits the infinite to a location. If the divine essence was not limited to a location when Jesus walked the streets of Jerusalem, then it means Jesus was not fully God. Solomon's words are decisive and closed to any misinterpretation. God manifests His presence through His attributes, not by entering His creation.
The Quran has also warned that these type of ambiguous verses are a test to those in whose heart there is perversity 3:7. They will deny the explicit verses that shed light on the right manner to approach these passages, preferring to apply their own desires and notions unto them. Trinitarians will often reply that God can do whatever He wishes. God surely has power over all things, but the contention here isnt about what God can or cannot do. God doesnt contradict Himself or negate His attributes, including Majesty and Self-sufficiency. Entering creation compromises both. This also opens the way for speculation, can God, for whatever theological construct, also incarnate into a worm? If not why not?
With those principles in mind we may further understand the implications of Allah "coming". We do not and cannot fathom how Allah can come within space and time, but we certainly can know the implications of that statement. Besides the hadith mentioned prior which entails mercy, in the Quran it means the execution of His command or of His threatened punishment. Similarly, the HB states in the context of divine chastisement visiting a wicked people, that God swiftly comes "riding" the clouds to destination Isa19:1,Ps104:3 or is transported by majestic angels Ps18:10. More in line with the Quranic imagery is God "descending" on the sinners for punishment or on a people for battle Isa31:4,Micah1:3 or "coming with a strong hand" to mete out retribution upon the heathens Isa40:10.
The idea of tiredness is completely excluded from God's creative work 46:33. God's establishment over the throne, which is itself a creation sustained by Him, symbolises His constant dominion upon all that exists. He has not relinquished His rule in favour of others nor has He made the whole of His creation or any part of it independent like a clock running by itself. He has instead remained at all times the sole Sustainer upon Whom the functioning of all things depend. The ending of these verses with
"surely His is the creation and the command"
refer precisely to this; after creation comes the command, symbolized by the establishment on the throne
32:5"He manages and regulates every affair from the heavens to the earth. Then, it will go up to him, in one Day, the space whereof is a thousand years of your reckoning".
In fact the Quran is silent about a seventh day in the history of creation, where the Bible depicts God as seemingly collapsing on a throne following a tiresome task. Rather, God creates in six days only and then controls His creation, including the throne upon which He is established. Had His management abandoned the world of existence for one single moment, the organization of them all would have perished 22:65,35:41.
In the HB, despite being One that Isa40:28"neither tires nor wearies", the crudely depicted Hebrew God is one that needed "resting" after "finishing" the monumental task of creating the universe, a pre-measured and finalized work
Isa40:12"Who measured water with his gait, and measured the heavens with his span, and measured by thirds the dust of the earth, and weighed mountains with a scale and hills with a balance?"
also Isa48:13.
This concept borders with the polytheistic beliefs of many people around the world, including the Arabs of the Hijaz, who attributed the act of creation to the One God supreme, who then for many various reasons, left it either partially or completely, to the interceding deities or lesser gods to administrate the natural processes. The perfect monotheism of Islam is far detached from these incomplete and primitive depictions of God.
Ibrahim's discussion with the unnamed ruler of his nation (later Quran commentaries identify him with Namrud/Nimrod) was precisely about this notion of God's omnipresence in the created world. What transpires from the portion of the debate quoted in the Quran is that the point of contention was not God's existence, rather His presence in man's life. The ruler gave examples implying that God is not concerned with all worldly matters, is mostly absent from man's life. Ibrahim refuted that point by reminding him of God's constant command of the natural laws upon which all life depends. He did so after the king's heedlessness to the first argument; God is the origin of the mechanism of life and death which all organisms are subject to. The ruler used ridicule to maintain his position, in the manner that the arrogant possessors of power often do. Instead of considering the deeper meaning of Ibrahim's argument, he alluded to the giving of life and death in an indirect manner; as a worldly king, he also had the power to inflict death and give or allow life. This exposed his spiritual heedlessness. Ibrahim then dumbfounded him with an argument he could not, even with his spiritual shallowness and corrupt belief in God, dismiss as he had previously done.
As has been made clear by now, God establishing Himself on the throne evokes dominion, and in the comprehensive language of the Quran conveys that Allah governs the whole of His creation, including the throne itself. He has kept all the powers by Himself, and whatever is taking place in each and every part of the universe is happening with His command and permission
30:25"And one of His signs is that the heaven and the earth subsist by His command".
Allah at no point becomes unconcerned with His creation, especially not man for whom he took the responsibility of making arrangements for his guidance, protection and fulfilment of his needs. This is done by providing means by which both aspects of the human being can thrive; the spiritual, through the innate perception of higher truths 23:78,46:26,67:23,76:2 as well as sending divine guidance 2:38-9,7:35-6,20:123 and the physical through the continuous maintenance of the universe and its laws 35:41. There is a reason why the Quran, in its surgical precision, describes Allah with His attribute of infinite mercy, when it mentions His establishment over the throne that encompasses all of creation
20:5"The Beneficent One/al Rahman, Who is established on the Throne".
No word enshrines the concept of constant care of every aspect of the functioning of the universe, more that the superlative Qayyum which reoccurs in the Quran, and no verse comprehensively explains it like ayat al kursi does 2:255. As denoted with "musiun" 51:47 which carries the meaning of expanding, the universe is not a finished work, but in continuous expansion, with new manifestations of God's creation
87:2"Who creates, then makes complete".
If creation in the universe is an ongoing phenomenon then how could one deem it far fetched and difficult to re-create the universe along with the humans after their destruction? These verses most often come in the context of providing proof for the resurrection. God has not just created this universe and left it alone after giving it the initial push. The same underlying notion is in 64:1. He isnt just the first cause after which He has no role in the affair. He is ruling over it and sustaining it at every moment
35:13,7:54"Who created the heavens and the earth in six periods of time, and He is established on the Throne; He throws the veil of night over the day, which it pursues incessantly; and (He created) the sun and the moon and the stars, made subservient by His command; surely His is the creation and the command; blessed is Allah, the Lord of the worlds".
Day and night are not following each other by themselves but by the Command of Allah Who could change the present system totally. But it is by His love and mercy that the system is maintained so as to allow life to thrive. God's love and mercy for His creation is a recurrent theme in the Quran and the idea of divine "detachment" from human destiny is in complete opposition to that concept. The combined statements that Allah is simultaneously above the throne as well as close to all things in existence, strikes the perfect balance between all encompassing transcendence and careful implication on an individual level.
This negates the atheist world-view, our universe is not a closed, continuous and self-perpetuating material universe. Every part of every process is brought about by Allah, whether creation of rain, the development of seeds, rotation of planets, from the cosmic to the cellular, man doesnt stand alone. Material causality is thus treated as a delusion 40:62 while constant divine creation is a reality 87:1-3.
40:7"Those who bear the throne and those around it celebrate the praise of their Lord and believe in Him and ask protection for those who believe.."
39:75"And you shall see the angels going round about the throne glorifying the praise of their Lord; and judgment shall be given between them with justice.."
69:16-7"And the heavens shall be rent asunder, for that Day it shall be frail and shall collapse. And the angels shall be on the sides thereof; and above them eight shall bear on that day your Lord's throne"
These verses speaking of the entites bearing the Throne and being near it on the Day of Judgement, do not say that God is or will be seated on this "Throne". As stated earlier, Allah is in no need of the throne for support, rather it is the throne that is constantly sustained by its Creator. Beyond its symbolism, the reality and function of the throne is something known to God only. In contrast, we read in the HB
1Kings22:19"I saw the Lord seated on His throne, and all the host of heaven were standing by Him on His right and on His left"
or also in Isa6:1,37:16,Ezek1,2,3 all picturing God carried by angelic creatures, seated on His throne. He is also pictured as accompanied by innumerable chariots and angels during certain "important" movements Ps68:18. Even the statement of ibn Abbas describing the kursi as Allah's footstool does not come close to the biblical depiction, neither does he state that Allah is seated on the throne
"The Kursi is the place where the Qadamain (feet) of Allah rest and the Arsh, no one knows its extent except Allah".
It is to be noted here that the statement is not attributed to the prophet.
The picture painted in the Quran carefully preserves divine transcendence all the while taking human imagination as close as possible to the divine essence. When subjects look at their king, the closest thing to him is his throne. Yet here at no point is Allah seated on His throne. Instead, powerful and compassionate angels are bearing it, in complete submission to the will of the mighty King. Seeing those majestic entities submitted in this manner is awe inspiring, and the fact that the King Himself does not need to appear to create such an effect, increases the feeling of amazement.
No comments:
Post a Comment