in the middle of a vast, barren plain.’
The opening part of this ḥadīth is mursal, and the section that comes from Abū Dharr is munqaṭiʿ. It has, however, been transmitted from him with a fully connected chain through another route. Al-Ḥāfiẓ Abū Bakr Ibn Mardūyah states in his Tafsīr:
‘Sulaymān ibn Aḥmad al-Ṭabarānī narrated to us; ʿAbd Allāh ibn Wahb al-Ghazzī reported to us; Muḥammad ibn Abī al-Sarī al-ʿAsqalānī reported to us; Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Tamīmī— from al-Qāsim ibn Muḥammad al-Thaqafī— from Abū Idrīs al-Khawlānī— from Abū Dharr al-Ghifārī who said: I asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ about the Kursī, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ replied:
“By Him in whose hand is my soul, the seven heavens and the seven earths, in relation to the Kursī, are like a ring tossed onto the ground of an open desert plain. And the superiority of the Throne over the Kursī is like the superiority of that desert over that ring.”’
Ibn Jarīr said in his History: Ibn Wakiʿ narrated to us—he said: My father related to us, from Sufyān, from al-Aʿmash, from al-Minhāl ibn ʿAmr, from Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, who said: Ibn ʿAbbās was asked about the words of Allah—“And His Throne was upon the water” (11:7): Upon what was the water? He answered, ‘Upon the back of the wind.’
The heavens, the earths, and everything within them are surrounded by the seas; all of that is encompassed by the Haykal, and—so it is said—the Kursī surrounds the Haykal.
A similar statement was transmitted from Wahb ibn Munabbih, who explained that the Haykal is a structure situated at the outermost edges of the heavens.
(1) The hadith is recorded in Tafsir al-Tabari (vol. 3, p. 8).
(2) In manuscript A it reads al-Arabi; in B al-Fuzzi; and in the Maghribi printed edition; all are corruptions. We follow the readings authenticated in al-Tabarani’s al-Awsat (no. 4370 ff.) and al-Saghir (no. 599).
(3) The hadith appears in Tafsir al-Tabari (vol. 3, p. 8) in similar wording.
(4) In manuscript B there is an addition: Muhammad ibn Uthman ibn Abi Shaybah in his Kitab Sifat al-‘Arsh (Description of the Throne) from al-Husayn ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Layla, from Ahmad ibn Ali al-Asadi, from al-Mukhtar ibn Ghassan al-‘Abdi, from Isma’il ibn Muslim, from Abu Idris al-Khulani, from Abu Dharr who said: “I entered al-Masjid al-Haram and saw the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) alone. I sat by him and asked, ‘O Messenger of Allah, which verse revealed to you is the best?’ He replied, ‘Ayat al-Kursi (the Verse of the Throne). The seven heavens in relation to the Kursi are like a ring cast on an open plain, and the superiority of the ‘Arsh (Throne) over the Kursi is like that plain over the ring.’” It is a hasan hadith by its chains.
(5) Tarikh al-Tabari (vol. 1, p. 40).
(6) Addition in the printed edition: conforms to Ibn Jarir’s version in his history.
(7) In the printed edition: “qala.” The passage is from a report of Ibn Abbas, which Ibn Jarir also records (vol. 1, p. 41).
(8) In Tarikh al-Tabari: “and the earth.”
(9) In manuscript B and in Tarikh al-Tabari: “among them.”
(10) Addition in the printed edition: agrees with al-Tabari’s narration.
(11) That is, al-Tabari; see Wahb’s remark in his history (vol. 1, p. 41).
(12) In A: “faqala: huwa…”; in B: “al-haykal al-kursi, faqala: huwa.” We have retained the printed wording, which corresponds to al-Tabari’s version.