How should we understand Allah’s throne being over the waters?
There is Verse in Quran which say that , Allah swt Throne was on the Water , Which water ? , What is that water?
Dear Brother / Sister,
“He it is Who created the heavens and the earth in six Days - and His Throne was over the waters - that He might try you, which of you is best in conduct. But if thou wert to say to them, “Ye shall indeed be raised up after death”, the Unbelievers would be sure to say, “This is nothing but obvious sorcery”.“ (Hud, 11/7)
“Allah’s throne being over the waters” is one of the mutashabih verses. Therefore, “Allah knows better what is meant by it.” The views of tafsir scholars on this issue are as follows:
Maraghi makes the following interpretation regarding the verse above:
When Allah created this realm (or before that) His throne of majesty was above water. The Throne (Arsh) of Rahman is from the realm of Ghayb (the Unseen), and we cannot perceive it with our senses. We cannot describe it with our thoughts either. We do not know the reason why Allah has established Himself on it. We cannot know the nature of His command coming from there for the administration of this magnificent realm. It is narrated that Umm Salama, Imam Malik and Rabi said, “Istiwa is known, but its nature is unknown”.
It is understood from the verse that before the formation of the heavens and the earth, another thing that was created outside the Throne was water. That is, Allah made it the origin and root of all living beings.
It is necessary to deal with the sentence “His Throne was over the waters” by comparing it with the verse “Then, He established Himself above the Throne”. (al-A’raf 7/54) In both, the throne is a metonymy; it does not mean the throne of the sultanate but reign and sultanate. “Allah’s throne” means His reign and sultanate, dominion and power. In that case, the fact that the Throne is above the water does not have a meaning dependent on the place and the thing. Compared to “Then, He established Himself above the Throne”, “the Throne being on the water” is another expression related to the establishment (istiwa) mentioned in the verse. (Elmalılı Tefsiri) (Elmalıli Commentary)
Will you please click on the links given below;
How should we understand the mutashabih (ambiguous) verses in the Quran?
What is the wisdom behind the mutashabih verses in the Quran?
Questions on Islam
- Will you give information about Allah’s establishing on the throne (arsh)?
- How should “Allah’s being established on the throne” mentioned in the verse be understood?
- Are the mutashabih (ambiguous, allegorical) verses in the Quran not contradictory with the rules of rhetoric?
- How should we understand the mutashabih (ambiguous) verses in the Quran?
- How should it be understood that the Quran was sent down clearly? Is it possible for everybody to read the translation of the Quran and practice it?
- It is stated in the verse 2 of the chapter of ar-Rad that “the heavens were raised without pillars” but it is stated in verse 7 of the chapter of al-Mumin that “angels sustain the Throne”. Are those verses not contradictory to each other?
- Can we act upon the translation of the verses whose meaning we can understand clearly? Are all verses mutashabih?
- Can we act upon the translation of the verses whose meaning we can understand clearly? Are all verses mutashabih?
- How should we understand the information about belief that begins with the words, “Allah is something, but He is not like other things”?
- While it is stated in verse 2 of the chapter of ar-Ra’d that "the heavens were raised without any pillars", it is stated in verse 7 of the chapter of al-Mumin that "angels sustain the Throne". Are those verses not contrary to each other?
