Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.
The authentic Sunnah establishes mention of the foot and the leg as attributed to Allah تعالى. Among this is the narration of al-Bukhari and Muslim from Anas ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
“Hellfire will continue to say: ‘Are there any more?’ until the Lord of Might places His foot in it. Then it will say: ‘Enough, enough, by Your Might,’ and its parts will draw together.”
Al-Bukhari and Muslim also narrated from Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said concerning Hellfire:
“As for Hellfire, it will not be filled until He places His leg in it. Then it will say: ‘Enough, enough.’ At that point it will be filled and its parts will draw together.”
In another narration from Muslim:
“As for Hellfire, it will not be filled, so He will place His foot upon it.”
These hadiths establish the foot and the leg for Allah تعالى in a manner befitting His majesty, without likening or comparing them to created things.
It is reported from Ibn ʿAbbas, may Allah be pleased with him and his father:
“The Kursi is the place of the two feet, while the Throne—no one can estimate its magnitude.”
This report has been transmitted through several chains, and a number of scholars considered it authentic.
It is also reported from Abu Musa al-Ashʿari, may Allah be pleased with him:
“The Kursi is the place of the two feet, and it makes a sound like the sound of a saddle.”
According to the view that these reports are authentic, they indicate the affirmation of two feet for Allah تعالى, which was affirmed by a number of scholars from Ahl as-Sunnah.
The obligation regarding the Names and Attributes of Allah is to affirm whatever has been authentically established in the Qur’an and Sunnah, in a manner befitting Allah تعالى, without distortion or denial, and without asking how or likening them to creation.
Allah تعالى says:
“There is nothing whatsoever like Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.”
Affirming an attribute does not mean likening the Creator to His creation, because Allah’s Attributes are appropriate to His majesty and perfection and do not resemble the attributes of His creation.
It has been reported that Imam Abu ʿUbayd al-Qasim ibn Sallam, may Allah have mercy on him, said concerning these hadiths that such reports are true according to the scholars, and that they believe in them without attempting to determine how they are, since their methodology was not to delve into the manner or modality of the attributes.
Here it is necessary to adhere to the wording transmitted in the texts.
The authentic hadiths use the wording:
“Until He places His foot…”
And another narration says:
“Then He places His leg in it.”
As for the report from Ibn ʿAbbas, may Allah be pleased with him and his father, it mentions the two feet.
Accordingly, the basic principle is to affirm what appears in the textual evidence and not go beyond it to expressions that are not found in the texts.
Therefore, it should not be said, based merely on the linguistic principle that “a singular noun in a possessive construction may convey generality,” that Allah places His two feet upon Hellfire, because the matter of divine attributes is based upon revealed evidence, and only what is established by evidence should be affirmed.
Likewise, it is not correct to formulate new expressions concerning the divine attributes based solely on linguistic principles. Rather, one should adhere to the wording transmitted in the texts.
The attribute of the foot and the leg is established for Allah تعالى in authentic hadiths, and some reports also mention the two feet.
We affirm whatever is established by evidence and believe in it in a manner befitting Allah تعالى, while believing that His Attributes do not resemble the attributes of created beings.
As for placing the foot or leg upon Hellfire, we restrict ourselves to the wording transmitted in the texts: “He places His foot upon it” or “He places His leg in it.” We should not go beyond this and say that He places His two feet there, because the affirmation of divine attributes is based on revealed evidence.
And Allah knows best.