He said: Abū Zur‘ah narrated to us: Minjāb ibn al-Hārith narrated to us: Bishr ibn ‘Umārah informed us, from Abū Rawq, from ‘Atiyyah al-‘Awfī, from Abū Sa‘īd al-Khudrī, that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said concerning His words, Most High:

“Vision cannot encompass Him, but He encompasses all vision”:

“If the jinn, humankind, devils and angels, from the time they were created until they ceased to exist, were arranged in a single row, they would never encompass Allah.”

This has supporting evidence, such as the reports in the authentic collections explaining His words, Most High:

“The whole earth will be in His grasp on the Day of Resurrection, and the heavens will be rolled up in His right hand.”

Ibn ‘Abbās said: “The seven heavens, the seven earths and all who are in them are, in the hand of the Most Merciful, no more than a mustard seed in the hand of one of you.”

It is known that the Throne does not reach this degree, for it has bearers and there is space around it. Allah Most High says:

“Those who bear the Throne and those around it.”

This has been discussed at length elsewhere, in “The Question of Encompassing” and other discussions. And Allah knows best.

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Thus, the Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, explained the principles that lead to the truth