Ibn al-Qayyim identified four senses of the verb istawa (to establish oneself): to remain firmly set, to rise, to ascend (without implying negation), and to climb. Abu Ubaydah, the student of al-Shaybānī, preferred this fourfold classification in his Qur’ānic exegesis as more accurate than the Jahmites’ approach. Likewise, Imam Abū Ḥanīfa, commenting on the verse “The Most Merciful istawa over the Throne” (Qur’ān 20:5), explained istawa there as “He rose above it” (see Ghāyat al-Amānī fī al-Radd ʻalā al-Nabhānī, I:460). Mujāhid similarly understood istawa to mean “He rose upon the Throne” and also reported that Abū al-‘Āliyah rendered it “He ascended” (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī XIII:403). The early generations used various expressions conveying the idea of elevation. Ibn ‘Abbas interpreted istawa as “He settled firmly,” while Abū Ubaydah held it to mean “He climbed” (al-Itqān, II:706). Thus, God—exalted is He—is istawa on His Throne, distinct from His creation, and His knowledge encompasses them. As Ibn Abī Shaybah declares: “Rather, He is above the Throne—muhīt bil-‘Arsh (encompassing the Throne)—free from His creation, separate from it; His knowledge flows through His creation, whom it does not escape” (al-‘Arsh, p. 5). For a detailed statement of the Salaf’s creed on this matter, see al-Radd ʻalā al-Jahmiyyah by al-Dārimī, pp. 13–29. The Jahmites merely denied istawa—some reinterpreting it as hulūl (incarnation), others denying that God is in any place. And God is the One whose help is sought.