[He is above the Throne by His Essence].' [Ijtima‘ al-Juyush (p. 176)].
Ibn al-Qayyim said: 'The Imams of the Sunnah said: He is by His Essence above His Throne, and that is a reality, not a metaphor.' [Mukhtasar al-Sawa’iq al-Mursalah (3/945)].
The reason the People of the Sunnah explicitly used this term is as Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) stated: 'When the Jahmiyyah said that "the Ascension is metaphorical," the People of the Sunnah declared that He is ascended by His Essence over the Throne.' [Mukhtasar al-Sawa’iq (3/902)].
The Imams of the People of the Sunnah only spoke it for further clarification and as a rebuttal to the People of Divestment (Ahl al-Ta'til) regarding their deception of the common folk in matters of their religion and creed. This phrase is not part of the superfluous speech which a person’s good observance of Islam entails leaving, as al-Dhahabi claimed in his book al-‘Uluw (p. 236) after mentioning those among the Imams of the Sunnah who explicitly stated it!
Nor is this phrase an invention (lit. 'from the pocket') of Imam al-Sijzi (may Allah have mercy on him), as al-Dhahabi likewise alleged after quoting his previous statement. Indeed, he [al-Dhahabi] followed it by saying: 'That which he narrated from them is well-known and preserved, except for the word "by His Essence," for it is from his own pocket...' etc.
For this reason, Sheikh al-Tuwayjiri (may Allah have mercy on him) followed up in his book Ithbat ‘Uluw Allah wa Mubayanatihi li Khalqihi (p. 32), saying: 'The consensus previously cited by Abu ‘Umar al-Talamanki—that Allah, Blessed and Exalted, is above the heavens by His Essence, ascended over His Throne however He wills—has been established. Shaykh al-Islam Abu al-‘Abbas ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) also narrated it in Sharh Hadith al-Nuzul and affirmed the mention of "the Essence" (al-dhat). Al-Dhahabi himself narrated it in the book al-‘Uluw two pages before al-Sijzi’s statement and affirmed the mention of "the Essence." Thus, there is no basis for his objection to al-Sijzi.'
A great number of major scholars have mentioned this word, as al-Dhahabi noted in the book al-‘Uluw after mentioning the words of Ibn Abi Zayd al-Maliki. Shaykh al-Islam Abu al-‘Abbas ibn Taymiyyah also narrated from the Maliki scholars that they recounted the consensus of the People of the Sunnah and the Community that Allah is by His Essence over His Throne. In this, alongside what has preceded, is a rebuttal to al-Dhahabi’s objection to al-Sijzi. Al-Dhahabi himself explained the scholars' intent in mentioning this word, which is to differentiate between His being, Exalted is He, over the Throne,
