He said: People differed over what the bearers of the Throne carry. Some said that the bearers carry the Creator, exalted is He; that when He is angry, He becomes heavy upon their shoulders, and when He is pleased, He becomes light, so they distinguish His anger from His pleasure; and that the Throne creaks like a saddle when He weighs heavily upon it.

Al-Ashʿarī said: Some said that the Creator neither becomes heavy nor light, nor do the bearers carry Him.

He said: Some said that the bearers are eight angels, while others said they are eight classes.

He said: Some said that He, exalted is He, is upon the Throne and separate from it—not through isolation and occupation of another place, but through a separateness that does not involve isolation. Separateness is an attribute of the Essence.

Abū al-Hasan al-Ashʿarī said: They differed—meaning