by their strength, nor did they lift His Throne by the firmness of their build; rather, they bore Him by His power, His will, His volition, and His support; were it not for that, they would not have been able to bear Him.
And it has reached us that when they bore the Throne, and above it is the Compeller in His might and splendor, they weakened from bearing it, submitted, and fell to their knees until they were instructed to say: (There is no power nor strength except by God). Then they lifted it by the power of God and His will. Were it not for that, the Throne would not have lifted Him, nor the bearers, nor the heavens and the earth, nor whoever is in them. And if He had willed, He could have settled on the back of a mosquito and it would have lifted Him by His power and the subtlety of His Lordship, so how about upon a mighty Throne larger than the seven heavens and the seven earths? And if the Throne were in the heavens and the earths, they would not have contained it; rather, it is above the seventh heaven. End quote.
[Ibn Taymiyya said: And if you know the root of this speech, then all the Predecessors and the Imams whom this reached rejected what it contains of these negating meanings that contradict what the Book and the Sunna brought (1). Then, whoever among the Predecessors was more knowledgeable of the condition of the Jahmīs, such as those among the Predecessors and Imams who directly interacted with them in Iraq and Khurasan at that time; for they were more knowledgeable of the reality of their affair due to their proximity to them. Thus, they might speak with the exact opposite of what they negated, and some of them might hesitate to use a term unrestrictedly, such as the term: "Al-Ḥadd", for those famous for leadership in the Sunna affirmed it, as ʿUthmān b. Saʿīd mentioned from them
بقوتهم، ولا استقلوا بعرشه بشدّةِ أسرهم، ولكنهم حملوه بقدرته، و مشيئته وإرادته وتأييده؛ لولا ذلك ما أطاقوا حملَه.
وقد بلغَنا أنهم حين حملوا العرش وفوقه الجبارُ في عزَّتِهِ وبهائه ضعفوا عن حمله واستكانوا وجثوا على ركبهم حتى لقِّنوا: (لا حول ولا قوة إلا بالله) ، فاستقلوا به بقدرة الله وإرادته، ولولا ذلك ما استقل به العرش، ولا الحملة، ولا السموات والأرض وَلا مَن فِيهِنَّ، ولو قد شاء لاستقل على ظهر بعوضة فاستقلت به بقدرته، ولطف ربوبيته فكيف على عرش عظيم أكبر من السموات السبع والأرضين السبع؟ ولو كان العرش في السموات والأرضين ما وسعته؛ ولكنه فوق السماء السابعة. اهـ
[قال ابن تيمية: وإذا عرفتَ أصلَ هذا الكلام فجميع السلف والأئمة الذين بلغهم ذلك أنكروا ما فيه من هذه المعاني السلبية التي تنافي ما جاء به الكتاب والسنة (١). ثم من كان من السلف أخبرُ بحال الجهمية مثل الذين كانوا يباشرونهم من السلف والأئمة الذين بالعراق وخراسان إذ ذاك؛ فإنهم كانوا أخبرَ بحقيقة أمرهم لمجاورتهم لهم، فإنهم قد يتكلمون بنقيض ما نفوه، وقد يتوقف بعضهم عن إطلاق اللفظ مثل لفظ: «الحد»، فإن المشاهير بالإمامة في السنة أثبتوه، كما ذكره عثمان بن سعيد عنهم
(۱) يقصد كلام الرازي (٦٧٦/٣-٦٨٣).
