أَعُوْذُ بِاللّٰهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيْمِ
(I seek the protection of Allah from the accursed Shayṭān.)
The Verse of the Throne
Surah #2 | Al-Baqarah | Ayah 255
اَللّٰهُ لَآ إِلٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْحَىُّ الْقَيُّوْمُ ، لَا تَأْخُذُهُۥ سِنَةٌ وَّلَا نَوْمٌ ، لَهُ مَا فِى السَّمٰـوٰتِ وَمَا فِى الْأَرْضِ ، مَنْ ذَا الَّذِىْ يَشْفَعُ عِنْدَهُ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِۦ ، يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيْهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ ، وَلَا يُحِيْطُوْنَ بِشَىْءٍ مِّنْ عِلْمِهِٓ إِلَّا بِمَا شَآءَ ، وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ السَّمٰـوٰتِ وَالْأَرْضَ، وَلَا يَئُوْدُهُۥ حِفْظُهُمَا ، وَهُوَ الْعَلِىُّ الْعَظِيْمُ
Transliteration: Allahu la ilaha illa huwa, al-Hayyul-Qayyum, la ta’khudhuhu sinatun wa la nawm, lahu ma fis-samawati wa ma fil-ard. Man dhal-ladhi yashfa’u ‘indahu illa bi-idhnihi. Ya’lamu ma bayna aydihim wa ma khalfahum, wa la yuhituna bi shay’im-min ‘ilmihi illa bima sha’a. Wasi’a kursiyuhus-samawati wal-ard, wa la ya’uduhu hifdhuhuma wa Huwal-‘Aliyyul-‘Adheem.
Translation: “Allah, there is no god worthy of worship but He, the Ever Living, The Sustainer of all. Neither drowsiness overtakes Him nor sleep. To Him Alone belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. Who is it that can intercede with Him except with His permission? He knows what is before them and what will be after them, and they encompass not a thing of His knowledge except for what He wills. His Kursī* extends over the heavens and the earth, and their preservation does not tire Him. And He is the Most High, the Magnificent.” (2:255)
[Footnote: Kursī* — The Kursī is the footstool of the Most Merciful, according to the most correct scholarly opinion. It is something other than the ‘Arsh (Throne), which is the greatest of all things that Allah has created, over which our Lord rose in a manner that befits His Majesty.]
Exegesis
This verse is the greatest, best, and most sublime verse in the Qur’an because of what it points to in terms of important matters and divine attributes. Hence, there are many hadiths that recommend reciting it regularly at different times—morning and evening, when going to sleep, and after the prescribed prayers.
In it, Allah tells us about Himself: {There is no god but He}—that is, there is none deserving of worship except Him. He is the true God to whom all types of worship, obedience, and devotion should be directed, because of His perfection, the perfection of His attributes, and His great blessings.
It is therefore befitting that the human being should be a slave to his Lord, following His commands and heeding His prohibitions. Everything other than Allah is false, and worship of anything besides Him is invalid—because everything other than Allah is created, imperfect, under His control, and entirely dependent on Him. Thus, it does not deserve to be worshipped in any way.
{The Ever-Living, the Self-Sustaining and All-Sustaining} — these two divine names inherently imply all the other divine names.
The Ever-Living (al-Hayy) is the One who possesses perfect life, which encompasses all attributes of His essence, such as hearing, sight, knowledge, power, and so on.
The Self-Sustaining and All-Sustaining (al-Qayyoom) is the One who is self-sustaining and upon whom all others depend for their existence. This implies all the actions of the Lord of the worlds, who does whatever He wills—rising above, descending, speaking, creating, granting provision, giving life and death, and exercising all types of control.
All of this is included in the meaning of Him being Self-Sustaining and the Sustainer of others. Hence, some scholars have said that these two names are among the greatest names; if Allah is called upon by them, He responds, and if He is asked by them, He gives.
The perfection of His being Ever-Living, Self-Sustaining, and All-Sustaining means that {neither slumber nor sleep overtakes Him}. The word translated here as {slumber} refers to drowsiness.
{To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth} — that is, He is the Sovereign, and everything other than Him belongs to Him. He is the Creator, the Provider, the Controller, and everything other than Him is created, provided for, and controlled; it does not possess for itself or for anyone else even the weight of an atom in the heavens or on earth.
Hence, Allah says: {Who is there that can intercede with Him except by His leave?} That is, no one can intercede with Him without His permission. All intercession belongs to Allah, but when He wills to show mercy to whomever He wills among His slaves, He grants permission to whomever He wills to honour among His slaves to intercede for that person.
The intercessor does not initiate intercession before permission is given.
{He knows what was before them} — that is, what has passed of all things; {and what will be after them} — that is, what lies ahead in the future. His knowledge encompasses all details, past and future, apparent and hidden, seen and unseen.
People have no control over their affairs at all, and they possess no knowledge whatsoever except that which He has taught them. Hence, He says: {while they encompass nothing of His knowledge except what He wills}.
{His Kursī extends over the heavens and the earth} — this indicates His perfect might and all-encompassing power, as the Kursī encompasses the heavens and the earth, despite their vastness and the greatness of what they contain.
The Kursī, however, is not the greatest of Allah’s creation; rather, there is something greater than it — namely, the Throne (al-‘Arsh), and that which no one knows except Him. The greatness of these creations dazzles the mind and is beyond comprehension; it would cause mountains to crumble and cannot be fully grasped by even the most brilliant human minds.
So how about the greatness of their Creator and Originator, who instilled in them countless wonders and mysteries that point to His immense wisdom — the One who keeps a firm hold on the heavens and the earth, lest they fall apart (cf. 35:41), without becoming tired or weary?
Hence, He says: {and the preservation of both does not weary Him} — that is, it is not burdensome for Him.
{For He is the Most High} — in and of Himself, above His Throne. He is the Most High in the sense that He is the Subduer of all His creation, and the Most High in status because of the perfection of His attributes.
{The Most Great} — the might of tyrants appears insignificant when compared with His greatness, and the status of powerful kings appears small when compared with His Majesty.
Glory be to the One who possesses great power and might over all things.
This verse refers to the oneness of divinity (tawheed al-uluhiyyah), the oneness of divine Lordship (tawheed ar-rububiyyah), and the oneness of the divine names and attributes (tawheed al-asma’ was-sifat). It also refers to His all-encompassing sovereignty and knowledge, and to the greatness of His power, majesty, glory, might, pride, and His exaltedness above all His creation.
This verse, on its own, highlights belief in the names and attributes of Allah and implies all the beautiful names and sublime attributes of Allah.
[Adapted from Tafseer As-Sa’di, 2:255]
May Allah ﷻ grant us understanding of His Book.
Aameen!
The Enduring Good Deeds 