al-Ibāna, which he compiled in three volumes, reads:
“Chapter: Belief that Allah is upon His Throne, separate from His creation, while His knowledge encompasses His creation.”
The Muslims, from the Companions and the Followers, are unanimously agreed that Allah is upon His Throne above His heavens, distinct from His creatures. As for His words, “He is with you” (57:4), the scholars have explained them as: by His knowledge. And His words, “He is Allah in the heavens and on the earth” (6:3), mean that He is Allah in the heavens and He is Allah—God—on the earth, a point confirmed by the verse, “It is He who is God in heaven and God on earth” (43:84).
The Jahmite argued on the basis of the verse, “No private conversation of three takes place but that He is the fourth of them” (58:7), saying, “Allah is with us and within us.”¹ The scholars explained that what is intended is His knowledge, for the verse concludes, “Surely Allah is Knowing of all things.”
Ibn Baṭṭah then listed—each with its chain of transmission—the statements of those who held that the verse refers to His knowledge: al-Ḍaḥḥāk, al-Thawrī, Nuʿaym ibn Ḥammād, Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, and Isḥāq ibn Rāhūyah.
Ibn Baṭṭah was one of the leading imams, noted for his asceticism, jurisprudence, adherence to the Sunnah, and firm following of it. Some questioned the precision of his transmission, yet he himself was truthful. He heard ḥadith from al-Baghawī and scholars of that caliber, and he died in 387 AH.
- Al-Dāraqutnī (306–385 AH)
The eminent ḥadith-master Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn ʿUmar was the marvel of his age and unrivaled among the expert critics; with him this discipline reached its pinnacle. Among his writings are The Beatific Vision and The Attributes, and in matters of the Sunnah and the creed of the early generations people ultimately referred to him.
- He is the one who said—according to what Aḥmad ibn Salāmah related to me from Yaḥyā ibn Yūsh, from Ibn Kādash, who recited to us Abū Ṭālib al-ʿAshʿarī, who in turn recited to us al-Dāraqutnī, may Allah have mercy on him:
The ḥadith of intercession is traced back to Ahmad;
… to Ahmad, the Chosen One, its chain we relate;
… and that He is likewise upon the Throne—we will never deny;
Transmit the report exactly as it came,
and add nothing to it that would corrupt it.
¹ The words “with us and within us” belong to the Jahmite claimant and are not to be understood literally, for the verse refers to Allah’s encompassing knowledge.