‘In a cloud, with air beneath it and air above it; then He created His Throne upon the water.’”

Muhammad said: “The word ‘amā’ means a dense, enveloping cloud, according to al-Khalīl.” He also cited other reports.

He then said:

Chapter on Belief in the Kursī

Muhammad ibn ‘Abd Allāh said: “Among the beliefs of Ahl al-Sunnah is that the Kursī is before the Throne and is the resting place of the two feet.”

He then cited the hadith of Anas concerning the divine manifestation on Fridays in the Hereafter. It includes the words:

“When Friday comes, He descends from ‘Illiyyīn onto His Kursī. Around the Kursī are pulpits of gold crowned with jewels; then the prophets come and sit upon them.”

He also cited what Yahyā ibn Sālim, the author of the well-known Quran commentary, related: “Al-‘Alā’ ibn Hilāl narrated to me from ‘Ammār al-Duhnī, from Sa‘īd ibn Jubayr, from Ibn ‘Abbās, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said:

‘The Kursī, which encompasses the heavens and the earth, is indeed the resting place of the two feet. None knows the magnitude of the Throne except the One who created it.’”

He also cited a report transmitted by Asad ibn Mūsā: “Hammād ibn Salamah narrated to us from Zirr, from Ibn Mas‘ūd, who said:

‘Between the lowest heaven and the one above it is a journey of five hundred years, and between each heaven and the next is five hundred years. Between the seventh heaven and the Kursī is five hundred years, and between the Kursī and the water is five hundred years. The Throne is above the water, and Allah is above the Throne, and He knows your circumstances.’”

Then, in the chapter on belief in the veils, he said:

“Among the beliefs of Ahl al-Sunnah is that Allah is separate