Hence, in the plain sense of this wording there is nothing that points to a meaning peculiar to created beings—exactly as with every other divine attribute.

Likewise, when He says,

“Then He rose over the Throne” (7:54),

whoever construes from this something exclusive to creatures—just as one does from His words,

“Once you and those with you have settled upon the ship” (23:28)—

has been led astray by his own fancy. The obvious purport of the wording is simply that an istiwaʾ (rising over) is ascribed to Allah, mighty and majestic, just as in the other verse an istiwaʾ is ascribed to a human being.

Now, if the one who rises is unlike the other who rises, the rising itself cannot possibly resemble the other rising. When a servant is needy of that on which he rises—depending on it to bear him—whereas the Lord, exalted and glorified, is independent of all else and the Throne and everything besides it depend on Him, for He is the One who upholds the Throne and its bearers, it does not follow that because the needy creature depends on what carries him, the One who is free of every need and upon whom all things depend must likewise rely on whatever He rises over.

In the outward wording of Allah’s speech, mighty and majestic, there is nothing that indicates any creature-specific quality such as the need to be carried, or anything of that sort. To imagine otherwise stems from poor understanding, not from the words themselves.