What is reliably transmitted from Ibn ʿAbbās is the report cited by al-Ḥākim in his al-Mustadrak—who remarked that it meets the criteria of the two Shaykhs (al-Bukhārī and Muslim) although they did not include it—through Sufyān al-Thawrī, ʿAmmār al-Duhnī, Muslim al-Baṭīn, and Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, from Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: “The Kursī is the place of the two feet, and as for the Throne, none can gauge its magnitude except Allah.”
Shujāʿ ibn Makhlad al-Fallās likewise recorded it in his Tafsīr through Abū ʿĀṣim al-Nabīl from al-Thawrī, but he raised it to the Prophet; the correct stance is that it is stopped at Ibn ʿAbbās. Ibn Jarīr also related it from Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī, al-Ḍaḥḥāk ibn Muzāḥim, and Ismāʿīl ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Suddī, who said: “The heavens and the earth are inside the Kursī, while the Kursī is before the Throne.”
Ibn Jarīr and Ibn Abī Ḥātim transmitted—by way of al-Ḍaḥḥāk—from Ibn ʿAbbās that he said: “If the seven heavens and the seven earths were spread out and joined one to another, their size, in relation to the Kursī, would be like that of a ring thrown into an open desert.”
Ibn Jarīr said: Yūnus related to us—ʿAbd Allāh ibn Wahb informed us—that Ibn Zayd narrated from his father that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “The seven heavens, compared with the Kursī, are like seven dirhams cast into a shield.”
He added: Abū Dharr said, “I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say, ‘The Kursī in relation to the Throne is like an iron ring flung into…’”
(1) In manuscript B: as transmitted by Ibn Abi Shaybah in his Kitab Sifat al-‘Arsh and by al-Hakim.
(2) al-Mustadrak, vol. 2, p. 282.
(3) In manuscript A: al-Madini, that is, ‘Ammar ibn Mu‘awiya al-Duhani al-Bajali al-Kufi. The nisba al-Duhani (with a dhamma on the madda and a sukun on the hā’) refers to his descent from Duhān ibn Mu‘awiya ibn Aslam ibn Ahmas, a branch of the Bujayla tribe (Taqrīb al-Tahdīb; Al-Lubāb).
(4) He is Muslim ibn Imran al-Battīn, also called ibn Abi Imran (Taqrīb al-Tahdīb).
(5) Manuscript B adds at this point: “wa saʿa kursiyyuhu al-samawāt wa-l-arḍ” (“His Kursi extends over the heavens and the earth”). This clause appeared a moment earlier.
(6) al-Tabari, Tafsir al-Tabari, vol. 3, p. 7.
(7) al-Tabari explains (vol. 3, p. 7): When the verse “wa saʿa kursiyyuhu al-samawāt wa-l-arḍ” (“His Kursi extends over the heavens and the earth”) was revealed, the Companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) asked, “O Messenger of Allah, this Kursi extends over the heavens and the earth; then how [can there be room for] the ‘Arsh?” Thereupon Allah, Exalted, revealed: “wa mā qadarū llāha ḥaqqa qadrihi…” [al-An‘ām 6:91].
(8) In manuscript A: ladallas, which is incorrect.
(9) al-Tabari, Tafsir al-Tabari, vol. 3, p. 7.
(10) The phrase “and it was reported by Ibn Jarir… ‘Abd al-Rahman” is omitted in manuscript B.
(11) The continuation in Tafsir al-Tabari states: “It is the place of His feet.” According to Abu Musa: “The Kursi is the place for the feet,” and it has an atiq (a raised border) like that of a saddle. Dhahhak said: “His Kursi is what is placed under the ‘Arsh upon which kings set their feet.”
(12) In manuscript B: al-Fala’. See al-Dur al-Manthur (vol. 1, p. 328), where the report is ascribed to Ibn Mardawayh and Ibn Abi Hatim; it is not found in Tafsir al-Tabari.
(13) al-Tabari, Tafsir al-Tabari, vol. 3, p. 8.