Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.
It is not correct to interpret Allah’s Istiwa over the Throne as meaning that His command became established over the Throne, nor is it correct to say that the Throne is the place from which the divine commands are issued. Rather, the correct position is that Allah تعالى is above His Throne, and that Istiwa over the Throne is affirmed for Him in a manner befitting His majesty. The Salaf explained Istiwa as elevation and rising, without asking how and without likening it to the attributes of creation.
Allah تعالى says:
﴿Indeed, your Lord is Allah, who created the heavens and the earth in six days, then established Himself over the Throne, directing the affair. There is no intercessor except after His permission. That is Allah, your Lord, so worship Him. Will you not remember?﴾ [Yunus: 3]
The One whom Allah تعالى described as directing the affair is Allah سبحانه, not the Throne, because the pronoun in His statement ﴿directing the affair﴾ refers to Allah تعالى.
Therefore, it is not correct to say that the Throne is the place from which the divine commands are issued, or that Allah’s command enters into the Throne or that any created thing encompasses it.
Istiwa over the Throne is one of the attributes that Allah تعالى affirmed for Himself. It must be affirmed as it appears in the texts, while declaring Allah free from resembling His creation.
The Salaf explained Istiwa as elevation and rising.
Imam al-Bukhari رحمه الله transmitted from Abu al-‘Aliyah and Mujahid in their explanation of Istiwa that it means rising and being elevated over the Throne.
Al-Baghawi رحمه الله said, in his explanation of Allah’s statement:
﴿Then He turned to the heaven﴾
that it means elevation, and he transmitted this explanation from Ibn ‘Abbas and most of the early exegetes.
This is the correct methodology: affirming what is established in the texts while believing that the manner of Allah’s Istiwa is known only to Allah. Therefore, one does not ask, “How did He establish Himself?” and His Istiwa is not compared to the Istiwa of created beings.
Allah تعالى says:
﴿There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing﴾ [Ash-Shura: 11].
No.
The fact that two things share one of their descriptions does not mean that they are identical in reality.
Allah تعالى described the Throne as great, and described the Qur’an as great. He also described the Throne as glorious, and described the Qur’an as glorious. He described the Throne as noble, and He also described other created beings as possessing nobility.
Allah تعالى said concerning Jibril عليه السلام:
﴿Indeed, it is the word of a noble messenger﴾ [At-Takwir: 19].
And regarding the throne of Bilqis, He said:
﴿And she has a great throne﴾ [An-Naml: 23].
And regarding the Qur’an:
﴿Rather, it is a glorious Qur’an﴾ [Al-Buruj: 21].
And He said:
﴿Indeed, it is a noble Qur’an﴾ [Al-Waqi‘ah: 77].
And He said:
﴿About what are they asking one another? About the great news﴾ [An-Naba’: 1–2].
Thus, the meaning differs according to the thing being described. The attribute of a created being is created and is appropriate to that created being, while Allah’s attributes are befitting Allah and do not resemble the attributes of His creation.
It is not correct to build matters of creed upon an analogy between the Throne and the paper on which the Qur’an is written.
The Qur’an is the Speech of Allah تعالى, and it is uncreated, whereas the paper, ink, and writing are created. The fact that Allah’s Speech is written in the Mushaf does not mean that Allah’s Speech has become created, nor does it mean that the attribute of Speech resides in the paper in the sense of indwelling.
Likewise, it is not correct to proceed from this to saying that Allah’s command has become within the Throne and then make this the meaning of Allah’s Istiwa over the Throne.
These are premises that are not found in the Qur’an or Sunnah, and the Salaf did not use them to interpret Istiwa.
Questions concerning the Names and Attributes of Allah are among the greatest subjects in religion. Therefore, it is not correct to interpret the texts merely according to intellectual possibilities or analogies for which there is no evidence.
The Qur’an and Sunnah are the foundation in matters of creed, while also referring to the explanations of the Companions, the Tabi‘un, and the Imams of Ahl as-Sunnah, and understanding the Arabic language in which the Qur’an was revealed.
Therefore, anyone who wishes to write about matters of creed should carefully verify what he says and present what he writes to qualified scholars, so that he does not publish an incorrect interpretation that people may then follow.
It is not correct to say that the meaning of ﴿He established Himself over the Throne﴾ is that Allah’s command became above the Throne, nor that the Throne is the source of the divine commands.
Rather, the correct position is that Allah تعالى established Himself over the Throne as He informed us about Himself. His Istiwa is true and befitting His majesty, and the Salaf explained it as elevation and rising, without asking how and without likening it to creation.
Likewise, the fact that the Qur’an, the Throne, or other things share some descriptions—such as greatness, nobility, and glory—does not mean that they are identical, because every attribute is appropriate to the thing being described.
And Allah knows best.