rather, those versed in hadith agree that it is fabricated. This addition is not transmitted from any imam recognized by the Muslim community as a leading authority. It originates only with those known for some degree of Jahmī thought and denial of certain divine attributes. The wording known to hadith scholars and recorded by the compilers of the authentic collections is:

“Allah existed, and nothing existed with Him. His Throne was upon the water, and He recorded everything in the Record.”

This negates only the existence of created things—the heavens and the earth, and the angels, humans, and jinn within them—not the existence of the Throne. For this reason, many earlier and later scholars held that the Throne preceded the Pen and the Tablet, citing this hadith as evidence. They understood his statement:

“The first thing Allah created was the Pen. He said to it, ‘Write.’ It asked, ‘What shall I write?’ He said, ‘Write whatever will occur until the Day of Resurrection.’”

as referring to the creation mentioned in His words:

“And it is He who created the heavens and the earth in six days, and His Throne was upon the water.”

This is comparable to the well-known hadith of Abū Razīn al-Uqaylī, recorded in the Musnad and Sunan collections. He asked the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace:

“O Messenger of Allah, where was our Lord before He created His creation?”

He replied:

“He was in a cloud, with no air above it and no air below it. Then He created His Throne upon the water.”

Thus, the creation mentioned in this hadith did not include the cloud. Some have stated that this is the cloud mentioned in His words:

“Are they waiting for anything but that Allah should come to them in canopies of clouds?”

There are well-known reports concerning this.