Bishr has ascended over Iraq,
without unsheathing a sword or spilling blood. (1)

The Jahmiyyah cite this single line as proof that istiwāʾ over the Throne means istīlāʾ (seizure of control). Such a claim is nothing but the distortion of words from their proper context, for the verse of this Christian provides neither evidence nor proof. Allah – exalted is He – never intended by His rising over the Throne the notion of conquering it. Transcendent is Allah, far above what the Jahmiyyah allege. One says, “He istawā over a thing,” only when that thing had first resisted him, as in Bishr’s taking possession of Iraq or a king’s subjugation of a city after its rebellion. The Lord’s Throne has never resisted Him for a single instant, so that anyone might say He seized it or that istiwāʾ means istiḥlāl. You will not find arguments weaker than those of the Jahmiyyah; their bankruptcy has driven them to cling to this contemptible Christian’s line of verse, and it contains no proof whatsoever. Allah knows best. (2)

Al-Haytham ibn ʿAdī narrated from ʿAwāna ibn al-Ḥakam:

When ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz assumed the caliphate, the poets came to pay their respects. They waited at his door for several days, receiving neither permission to enter nor the slightest attention. Disheartened, they resolved to return home. Just then Rajāʾ ibn Ḥaywa passed by, and Jarīr said to him:

“O man whose turban-tails hang down,
this is your moment—secure for us an audience with ʿUmar.”

Rajāʾ entered but mentioned nothing to ʿUmar about them. Then ʿAdiyy ibn Arṭāh came by, and Jarīr recited:

O rider whose mount’s reins hang loose, (3)
this is your day, for my day has passed.
Tell our Caliph—if you should meet him—
that I stand at the door like a prisoner in irons.
Do not forget our need—may you meet forgiveness—
for long have I been kept from family and homeland. (4)

ʿAdiyy entered upon ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz and said, “Commander of the Faithful, the poets are at your door; their arrows are poisoned and their words strike home.”

He replied, “Woe to you, ʿAdiyy! What have I to do with poets?”

ʿAdiyy answered, “Commander of the Faithful, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to listen to poetry and reward it. Al-ʿAbbās ibn Mirdās recited a panegyric to him and he gave him a cloak.”

ʿUmar asked, “Do you remember any of it?”

“Yes,” he said, and he recited:

I beheld you, O best of all creation,
spreading a Book that came with manifest truth.
You laid down for us the faith of guidance after our wrongdoing,
when truth had become obscured and darkness prevailed.