Saying Allah (s.w.t.) is Established on the Throne “in Person” is Disbelief

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

Regarding Allah’s (s.w.t.) istiwa’, Establishment, on the Throne, Imam Shams ad-Din Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Ahmad adz-Dzahabi (r.a.) disavowed the term “bi dzatihi”, “in person”, saying, “There is no need for this expression, and it disturbs the soul.”  Imam Shihab ad-Din Abu al-Fadhl Ahmad ibn ‘Ali ibn Hajr al-‘Asqalani, (r.a.) also rejected the statement that Allah (s.w.t.) is on the Throne “bi dzatihi”, “in person”, as equally preposterous as saying that He is everywhere. 

Some of the Mu’tazilah have claimed that Allah (s.w.t.) was everywhere on the basis of the hadits, “If one of you stands in prayer, let him not spit in front of him for Allah (s.w.t.) is in front of him.”  This is evident ignorance, because the hadits then states that he should spit under his foot, which invalidates their principle.  The hadits also constitutes a refutation of those who say that Allah (s.w.t.) is on the Throne “bi dzatihi”, “in person”. 

Even Sulayman ibn ‘Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab, the grandson of the founder of the Wahhabi sect, that heretic, Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab, declared as unbeliever anyone who used the term “bi dzatihi”, “in person”, in relation to Allah (s.w.t.) being in a place, whether one place or an infinite number: “Whoever believes or says: Allah (s.w.t.) is in person in every place, or in one place: he is a kafir.  It is obligatory to declare that Allah (s.w.t.) is distinct from His Creation, Established over His throne without modality or likeness or exemplarity.  Allah was and there was no place, then He Created place and He is Exalted as He was before He Created place.” 

Allah (s.w.t.) was before He Brought place and time into existence, and He is now as He ever was.  The Prophet (s.a.w.) said, “Allah Existed and nothing existed together with Him.”  This was narrated from Sayyidina Buraydah ibn al-Huswayb (r.a.), by Imam Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullah al-Hakim an-Nishaburi (r.a.), in al-Mustadrak, who declared it swahîh.  Imam adz-Dzahabi (r.a.) concurred.  And it was narrated from Sayyidina ‘Imran ibn Husayn (r.a.), by Imam Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Isma’il al-Bukhari (r.a.), and Imam Abu Hatim Muhammad ibn Fayswal at-Tamimi ibn Hibban (r.a.), with two sound chains in his Swahih, and Imam Abu Bakr ‘Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn Abu Shaybah (r.a.), in his Muswannaf.