said: ‘O Abū Sa‘īd, whoever is content with Allah as his Lord, Islam as his religion, and Muhammad as his Prophet is assured of Paradise.’ Abū Sa‘īd was amazed at this and said, ‘Repeat that for me, O Messenger of Allah.’ He did so, then said, ‘There is another deed by which Allah raises His servant one hundred degrees, the distance between each two degrees being like that between heaven and earth.’ He asked, ‘What is it, O Messenger of Allah?’ He replied, ‘Fighting in Allah’s cause.’”

Sahīh al-Bukhārī also relates:

“Umm al-Rabī‘ bint al-Barā’—the mother of Hāritha ibn Surāqa—came to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and said, ‘O Prophet of Allah, will you not tell me about Hāritha?’ He had been killed on the day of Badr, struck by a stray arrow. ‘If he is in Paradise, I shall bear it patiently; but if he is elsewhere, I shall weep bitterly for him.’ He said, ‘O mother of Hāritha, there are many gardens in Paradise, and your son has attained the highest Firdaws.’”

The first hadith thus makes clear that the Throne is above al-Firdaws, which is the most central and highest part of Paradise, and that Paradise contains one hundred degrees, the distance between each two degrees being like that between heaven and earth, with al-Firdaws the highest of them. The second hadith agrees with it in its description of the hundred degrees, and the third agrees with it that al-Firdaws is the highest of them.

If the Throne is above al-Firdaws, one may argue that, if this is so, it entails a height and elevation not established by astronomy. For calculation does not establish that the distance between the ninth sphere and the first is one hundred times the distance between heaven and earth; moreover, in their view, the ninth sphere is contiguous with the eighth. This has thus made clear that the Throne is above al-Firdaws, which is the most central and highest part of Paradise.

In the well-known hadith of Abū Dharr, he said: “I said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, which of what has been revealed to you