of Ibn Masʿūd: “Allah has not created in Paradise or in Hell, nor in the heavens or on the earth, anything greater than Ayat al-Kursi (1).”
I answered, “The act of creation applies to Paradise, Hell, the heavens, and the earth; it does not apply to the Quran.”
Someone else said, “There is the hadith of Khabbab: ‘My dear son, seek closeness to Allah by whatever means you can, for you will never draw near to Him with anything more beloved to Him than His own speech (2).’”
I replied, “Exactly so.”
Ṣāliḥ recounted: “Ibn Abī Duʾād began to glare at my father as though enraged.”
My father said, “When one of them spoke, I would refute him; another would speak, and I would refute him. Whenever one of them was silenced, Ibn Abī Duʾād would cut in and say, ‘Commander of the Faithful, by Allah, he is misguided, misleading, an innovator!’
“The caliph would reply, ‘Speak to him, debate with him.’
“So this man would address me and I would respond; then another would address me and I would respond. When they had all been reduced to silence, al-Muʿtaṣim would say, ‘Woe to you, Ahmad! What do you say?’
“I would say, ‘Commander of the Faithful, bring me something from the Book of Allah…’”}
His Throne was upon the water. From Imran ibn Husayn who said: “I entered upon the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—after tethering my she-camel at the door. Some men from Banu Tamim were with him, and he said: ‘Receive the glad tidings, O Banu Tamim!’ They replied, ‘You have already given us good news; now give us (something material), twice.’ Then some people from Yemen entered and he said: ‘Receive the glad tidings, O people of Yemen, since Banu Tamim have declined it.’ They said, ‘We accept. We have come to gain understanding of the religion and to ask you about the beginning of this matter—what was it?’ He replied: ‘Allah existed and nothing else existed with Him. His Throne was upon the water. He wrote everything in the Reminder (al-dhikr) and created the heavens and the earth.’
(1) Al-Suyuti cites this in al-Durr al-Manthur, 1:323, attributing it to Abu ʿUbayd, Ibn al-Durays, and Muhammad ibn Nasr in the wording: “Allah created no heaven, earth, Garden, or Fire greater than the verse in Surah al-Baqarah: Allah, there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer.” It was also transmitted by Saʿid ibn Mansur, Ibn al-Durays, and al-Bayhaqi in al-Asma wa-l-Sifat on the authority of Ibn Masʿud, who said: “No heaven, earth, plain, or mountain is greater than Ayat al-Kursi.”
(2) Reported by al-Ajurri in al-Shariʿah, p. 77, through the chain: Abu al-Qasim ʿAbd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aziz al-Baghawi – Dawud ibn Rashid – Abu Hafs al-ʿAbbar – Mansur – Hilal ibn Yasaf – Furwah (corrupted in the manuscript to Qurrah) ibn Nawfal, who said: Khabbab ibn al-Aratt (may Allah be pleased with him) took me by the hand and said, “Young man, draw near to Allah as much as you can, for you will not draw near to Him with anything more beloved to Him than His speech.” The chain is sound.