The same applies to His words:

“Then He rose over the Throne.”

For He has also said:

“And it came to rest on Mount Jūdī.”

And He has said:

“Then it stands firm upon its stalks.”

And He has said:

“Then, when you and those with you have boarded the Ark.”

And He has said:

“So that you may settle upon their backs.”

All these instances of istiwāʾ (being established upon something) entail the dependence of what is above upon what is beneath it: were that which supports it absent, it would fall. Allah Most High, however, has no need of the Throne or anything else. Rather, He, glorified is He, bears the Throne and its bearers by His power. It has been reported that they were only able to bear the Throne when He commanded them to say: “There is no power nor strength except through Allah.”

Thus, the term istiwāʾ is ambiguous: when applied to created beings, it entails meanings from which Allah is utterly free. We know its meaning—elevation and evenness—but we do not know the manner unique to the Lord, whereby He is established above the Throne without any need of it. Rather, the Throne needs Him, and everything depends upon Him in every respect. Among existing things, we have never known anything to be established upon something else while having no need of it, with that which is beneath it instead depending upon what is above it. It is therefore ambiguous in this respect.

The two expressions and their meanings have an element in common, as well as a distinguishing element intended in each case. We do not know the distinguishing reality unique to the Lord. Thus, we know it in one respect and do not know it in another. The latter is its ultimate reality, while the former is its explanation.

The same applies to what Allah has told us about the food, drink, and clothing in Paradise, such as milk, honey, wine, and water. We know of no milk except that produced by livestock