89- Hibatu’llah (1) said: Muhammad ibn Jaʿfar the grammarian informed us; Abu ʿAbd Allah Niftawayh narrated to us, saying: Abu Sulayman Dawud ibn ʿAli related to me: We were with Ibn al-Aʿrabi when a man came to him and asked, “What is the meaning of Allah the Exalted’s words: ‘The Most Merciful rose over the Throne’?” He replied (2), “He is above His Throne just as He—glorified is He—has told us.” The man said, “Abu ʿAbd Allah, that is not its meaning; its meaning is: He took possession.” Ibn al-Aʿrabi answered, “Be quiet! What business have you with this? One only says istawlā (took possession) of a thing when it has an opponent (3); when one of the two prevails, it is said, ‘istawlā.’ Have you not heard the verse of al-Nabighah:
‘Indeed, for one like you—or one whom you outstrip—
the thoroughbred wins the race when it has istawlā over the goal.’ (4)
90- My son Abu al-Majd ʿIsa (son of ʿAbd Allah) (5) narrated to me; he said (6): The shaykh Abu (7)
(1) In other manuscripts: “It was reported to us by ‘Abdullah b. Muhammad, who was told by Ahmad b. ‘Ali, who was told by Hibat Allah b. al-Hasan.”
(2) The term “faqala” (“he said”) is not present in (h).
(3) In al-Lalkā’ī it reads “illa an yakun” (“unless he is”).
(4) Al-Lalkā’ī transmits it (see no. 666, vol. 2, p. 399), as does al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī in his Tārīkh (vol. 5, p. 284), where it appears with the addition: “By God, He has no opponent, and He is on His Throne as He informed us, and the istīlā’ follows overcoming.” Al-Ḥāfiẓ records it in al-Futūḥ (13/406) and attributes it to Abū Ismā‘īl al-Harawī in al-Fārūq. Imam Ibn al-Qayyim includes it in Ijtimā‘ al-Juyūsh al-Islāmiyyah (p. 83). He also quotes Ibn al-‘Arabī’s statement that Ibn Abī Du‘ād asked him to find in the Arabic lexicons the meaning of istawā as “to seize,” to which Ibn al-‘Arabī replied, “By God, that cannot be,” and found no evidence. I say: This invented interpretation lacks any basis in sharī‘ah or linguistic support; it is a pure innovation by those seeking to avoid affirming this attribute, even resorting to falsehood, distortion, and groundless claims—a consistent practice regarding all attributes.
(5) Not found in other manuscripts.
(6) In the (m) manuscript: “qālā” (“they two said”).
(7) In other manuscripts: “anba’a” (“he informed”).