and their slaves, their males and females, their adults and children. Whoever supplicates to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, raises his head towards heaven and extends his hands towards Allah Most High—upwards, not downwards.”

Abū Sulaymān al-Khattābī said in his book Shiʿār al-Dīn, a work on the foundations of religion: “On His being established over the Throne: This matter must be established exclusively through revelation; no evidence from any other source can establish it. The Book declares it in several verses, and authentic reports affirm it. Accepting it on the authority of revelation is therefore obligatory, while probing into it and seeking to determine its manner is impermissible. wd Abū ʿAbd Allāh Mālik ibn Anas, may Allah have mercy on him, was asked about Allah’s words:

‘The Most Merciful is established over the Throne’ {5}.

He replied: ‘Being established is known; its manner cannot be grasped by reason. Belief in it is obligatory, and asking about it is an innovation.’”

He also mentioned the passages in the Quran that speak of