Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

 

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

The translation of Quraan by Dr. M Muhsin Khan and Dr. Al-Hilali suggests that Kursi here means chair or footstool and not Throne as that is 'Arsh. Please comment.

 

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Answer:

 

Kursi is footstool chair not throne

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

 

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 255:

255    Allah! There is no Allah but He; The Living, The Self-Subsisting Eternal. No slumber can seize Him nor sleep.  His are all things in the heavens and on earth.  Who is there can intercede in His presence except as He permitteth?  He Knows what (appears) before or after or behind them.  Nor shall they compass aught of His Knowledge except as He Willeth.  His ‘Kursi’ doth extend over the heavens and the earth and He Feels no fatigue in guarding and preserving them.  For He is The Most High, The Supreme.

 

Indeed, the literal meaning of the Arabic term ‘Kursi’ would mean a chair or even a footstool; and the term used for a throne in the Arabic language is indeed ‘Arsh’.

 

The exact meaning of the ‘Kursi’ (Chair) or ‘Arsh’ (Throne) of the Lord Most Majestic is obviously from amongst the ‘Mutashabehaat’ (allegorical) verses of the Glorious Quran; and it would indeed be an attempt in futility if one were to try to imagine the exact magnitude, or appearance, or size, or width, or the significance of the ‘Kursi’ or the ‘Arsh’ of the Lord Most Supreme, Most Majestic, Most High….just as it would be an attempt in futility to imagine what the Lord Most Majestic means when He refers to His Hands, or His Sight, or His Hearing, etc. in the Glorious Quran.

 

Suffice for the believers would it be to believe that the Lord Most Supreme’s Hands, Eyes, Sight, Hearing and even His ‘Kursi’ and His ‘Arsh’ are things which suit His Magnificence, His Majesty, His Glory, and His Excellence.

 

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 3 Surah Ale-Imraan verses 7-8:

7        He (Allah) it is Who has sent down to thee the Book: in it are verses basic or fundamental (of established meaning); they are the foundation of the Book: others are allegorical.  But those in whose hearts is perversity follow the part thereof that is allegorical seeking discord and searching for its hidden meanings but no one knows its hidden meanings except Allah; and those who are firmly grounded in knowledge say: "We believe in the Book; the whole of it is from our Lord"; and none will grasp the Message except men of understanding.

8        "Our Lord!" (they say) "let not our hearts deviate now after Thou hast guided us, but grant us mercy from Thine Own Presence; for Thou art the Grantor of bounties without measure.”

 

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone.  Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

 

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

 

 

Burhan