is a figurative expression. The wording may not be understood in that sense unless a contextual indication shows that it is intended. This applies all the more to a word with multiple meanings. It is well known that nothing in the discourse indicates that taking control is what He intended by the verse.

“Furthermore,” authorities on Arabic have said that istawā cannot mean istawlā except where there is rivalry and a struggle for dominance: when one contender overcomes the other, it is said that he has taken control. No one has contested the Throne with Allah. Thus, even if its use in this more specific sense were established, while its conveying the broader sense remained disputed, it would not have to be interpreted in that sense merely because some authorities on Arabic said so, when they themselves disagree about it. Yet these people have claimed that, in Arabic, it means “took control” without qualification. The word istiwā occurs in several places in the Quran, as in His words:

“you and those with you have boarded the ship”

“and it came to rest on Mount Jūdī”

“so that you may settle yourselves upon their backs”

And in the hadith of Adī:

“The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, came with his mount. When he placed his foot in the stirrup, he said, ‘In the name of Allah.’ Once he was seated on its back, he said, ‘Praise be to Allah.’”

(Ninth: Even if it were established that this usage belongs to the Arabic language, it would not necessarily belong to the language of the pure Arabs. Even if some of the pure Arabs used it, it would not necessarily belong to the language and speech of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Even if it belonged to his language, it would bear the meaning known from the Quran and Sunnah. That is the intended meaning, and no other meaning may be intended.

(Tenth: Interpreting it in this sense would lead to an objectionable implication from which some of the leading scholars must be deemed free