Is There a Hadith Stating That Allah Sits on the Throne and It Makes a Sound?

Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel

Question

Is there a hadith stating that Allah sits on the Throne and it makes a sound, as narrated by Umar (Allah be pleased with him) in Kitab al-‘Arsh?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question.

The scholars of hadith agree that none of the narrations that mention the ‘groaning of the throne’ is authentic.

Narration of ‘Umar (Allah be pleased with him)

The narration of ‘Umar states that a woman came to the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) and said: “Supplicate Allah so that He cause me to enter Paradise.” The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) then glorified Allah and said: “Verily, His Seat of Authority (kursi) encompasses the heavens and the earth, and it groans like the sound of the new saddle when one mounts it, due to the weight pressing down on it.”

Imam Haythami’s claim that its sub-narrators are all trustworthy is incorrect, as the sub-narrator ‘Abd Allah ibn Khalifa is merely “acceptable” (maqbul) according to Ibn Hajar, and Ma‘ruf and Imam Arna’ut consider him unknown (majhul al-hal), which further weakens the narration.

This means that his narration is not retained except for the purpose of confirming an identical narra­tion with a stronger chain. Furthermore, Ibn Kathir stated there is doubt whether he actually nar­rated from ‘Umar, and the hadith would then be narrated with a “cut-up” (munqati‘) chain.

As for the text of the hadith itself (matn), it is considered by Ibn Kathir in his Tafsir [1:31, 2:14] as a “strange” or one-chained (gharib) narration. Ibn Kathir also states that Abu Dawud’s narration from Jabir ibn Mut‘am is “stranger yet.”

Please read Dr Gabriel F. Haddad’s valuable, detailed answer below. In sha Allah.

Related

• The Prophet’s (s) Seating on the Throne by Dr.Gabriel F.Haddad

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I pray this helps with your question.
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

٢٨٤٢ – حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْفَضْلِ، حَدَّثَنَا الصَّعْقُ بْنُ حَزْنٍ، عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ الْحَكَمِ، عَنْ عُثْمَانَ بْنِ عُمَيْرٍ، عَنْ أَبِي وَائِلٍ، عَنْ ابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ قَالَ: قِيلَ لَهُ: مَا الْمَقَامُ الْمَحْمُودُ؟ قَالَ: «ذَاكَ يَوْمٌ يَنْزِلُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَلَى كُرْسِيِّهِ يَئِطُّ كَمَا يَئِطُّ الرَّحْلُ الْجَدِيدُ مِنْ تَضَايُقِهِ بِهِ، وَهُوَ كَسَعَةِ مَا بَيْنَ السَّمَاءِ وَالْأَرْضِ، وَيُجَاءُ بِكُمْ حُفَاةً، عُرَاةً، غُرْلًا، فَيَكُونُ أَوَّلَ مَنْ يُكْسَى إِبْرَاهِيمُ، يَقُولُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: اكْسُوا خَلِيلِي، فَيُؤْتَى بِرَيْطَتَيْنِ بَيْضَاوَيْنِ مِنْ رِيَاطِ الْجَنَّةِ، ثُمَّ أُكْسَى عَلَى أثْرِهِ، ثُمَّ أَقُومُ عَنْ يَمِينِ اللَّهِ مَقَامًا يَغْبِطُنِي الْأَوَّلُونَ وَالْآخِرُونَ»
[تعليق المحقق] إسناده ضعيف جدا عثمان بن عمير قال أحمد والبخاري: منكر الحديث

٥٤٠ – وفي معناه أيضًا: ما نا أبو القاسم قال نا أبو الحسن عليُّ بن عمر بن أحمد الدارقطني قال نا يحيى بن محمد بن صَاعد قال نا إبراهيم بن سعد الجوهري وزهير بن محمد قَالَا نا عبد الرحمن بن المبارك عن الصَّعِقِ بن حَزْن (١) عن علي بن الحكم عن عثمان بن عمير عن أبي وائل عن عبد الله قال: قال رجل: يا رسول الله، ما المقام المحمود؟ قال: «يَوم يَنْزِلُ اللهُ على كُرْسِيِّه يَأطُّ كما يَأط الرحْلُ الجديد من تضايقه، وهو كَسَعَةِ ما بين السَّماءِ والأرْضِ» (٢).

(٢) ضعيف، عثمان بن عمير، أبو اليقظان الثقفي الكوفي البجلي، ضعفه غير واحد، قال ابن معين: ليس بشيء، وقال النسائي ليس بالقوي. وقال الدارقطني وغيره: ضعيف، وقال أحمد: ضعيف الحديث. انظر ميزان الاعتدال (٣/ ٥٠ – ٥١).

Mawlana Ilyas Patel has received a traditional education in various countries. He started his schooling in the UK and completed his hifz of the Quran in India. After that, he joined an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied secular and Aalimiyya sciences. Later, he traveled to Karachi, Pakistan, and other Middle Eastern countries to further his education. Mawlana has served as an Imam in the Republic of Ireland for several years and taught the Quran and other Islamic sciences to both children and adults. He also worked as a teacher and librarian at a local Islamic seminary in the UK for 12 years. Presently, he lives in the UK with his wife and is interested in books and gardening.