to one prophet over another, for people will swoon on the Day of Resurrection, and I will be the first to regain consciousness. Then I will find Moses holding one of the legs of the Throne, and I will not know whether he regained consciousness before me or was spared in recompense for his earlier swoon.”

This makes clear that the Throne has legs. A leg is also referred to by the word sāq (leg), and the accounts are similar in this respect.

Both compilers of the two Sahīhs narrated from Jābir, who said:

“I heard the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, ‘The Throne of the Most Merciful shook at the death of Sa‘d ibn Mu‘ādh.’”

A man said to Jābir, “Al-Barā’ says that it was the bier that shook.”

Jābir replied, “There were grudges between these two tribes, al-Aws and al-Khazraj. I heard Allah’s Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, ‘The Throne of the Most Merciful shook at the death of Sa‘d ibn Mu‘ādh.’”

Muslim also narrated it in his Sahīh from Anas: while Sa‘d’s bier lay before them, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “The Throne of the Most Merciful shook for it.”

According to them, the movement of the ninth celestial sphere is continuous and uniform. Whoever interprets this as referring to the gladness and joy of the bearers of the Throne must provide evidence for his claim, as Abū al-Hasan al-Tabarī and others have mentioned. Moreover, the context and wording of the hadith rule out this possibility.

In Sahīh al-Bukhārī, Abū Hurayrah reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“Whoever believes in Allah and His Messenger, establishes prayer, pays the prescribed alms, and fasts Ramadan, Allah has pledged to admit him to Paradise, whether he emigrates in Allah’s cause or remains in the land where he was born.”

They said, “O Messenger of Allah, should we not give people this glad news?”

He said:

“In Paradise there are a hundred degrees that Allah has prepared for those who strive in His cause. Between each two degrees is a distance like that between heaven and earth. So when you ask Allah, ask Him for al-Firdaws, for it is the central and highest part of Paradise. Above it is the Throne of the Most Merciful, and from it flow the rivers of Paradise.”