The All-Merciful sat on the Throne. In the Qur'an He mentioned seven times that He is sitting on the Throne. Shaykh al-Islām Anṣārī said, “The sitting of the Lord on the Throne is in the Qur'an, and I have faith in it. I do not seek interpretation, for interpretation in such topics is rebellion. I accept the outward meaning and surrender to the inner meaning. This is the belief of the Sunnis, whose path is to accept with the spirit what is not perceived. “My faith comes by hearing, my Shariah comes by reports, my recognition comes by find- ing. I assent to the reports, I realize the found, and I follow the heard with the tool of intellect, the witnessing of His artisanry, the evidence of light, the allusions of the revelation, the message of the Messenger, and the condition of surrender. “Nonetheless, I know for sure that He is not one who takes up place out of need, for He shows places for argument. The Throne does not elevate God, for God elevates and preserves the Throne. He made the Throne for seekers of God, not recognizers of God. The God-seeker is one thing, the God-recognizer something else. He says to the God-seekers, 'The All-Merciful sat on the Throne.' He says to the God recognizers, 'And He is with you' [57:4] on the Throne by Essence, in knowl- edge everywhere, through companionship with the spirit, and through nearness with the soul.” O chevalier, do not put down your bags in the seclusion of He is with you, for High indeed is God, the King, the Real [20:114] applies to Him. Do not relax on the carpet of We are nearer [50:16], for beneath it is They measured not God with the rightful due of His measure [22:74]. Do not be bold because of Faces that day will be radiant, gazing upon their Lord [75:22-23], for above it is Eyesights perceive Him not [6:103]. Whatever He is the First gives, He is the Last snatches away; whatever He is the Outward shows, He is the Inward [57:3] effaces. What is all this? This is so that the person of faith will circle around between fear and hope, and the recognizer between contraction and expansion. You cannot say that you cannot find, for the Shariah disputes that. Nor can you say that you can find, for the Exaltedness does not approve. He is exalted and tremendous, one whose measure is not recognized and whose rightful due is not perceived. He is gentle and loving, one who loves them, and they love Him [5:54].
