Section Three:

Affirming the Sitting of the Lord, Mighty and Majestic

Many of the People of the Sunnah and the Community (Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama‘ah) have explicitly used the terms “sitting” (al-julus) and “seating” (al-qu‘ud) in reference to Allah the Exalted, as has been explicitly mentioned in the hadiths of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and the reports (athar) of the Companions, the Successors (Tabi‘un), and the prominent figures among the predecessors (Salaf) of this nation—may Allah the Exalted have mercy on them.

Many of the later scholars—those who were influenced by aspects of the censured speculative theology (ilm al-kalam)—found the affirmation of sitting and seating for Allah the Exalted to be problematic, based on the premise that these terms carry an implication of a prohibited [anthropomorphic] resemblance that is not present in other terms.

Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah the Exalted have mercy on him) stated: “Whoever employs it has only followed the narrated report (al-athar) in that regard. There is no doubt that there is nothing like unto Allah the Exalted, neither in His Essence, nor in His Attributes, nor in His Actions. The commonality between two terms does not necessitate a commonality in their reality, just as it is with all other terms for the Attributes, such as descending (al-nuzul), coming (al-maji’), joy (al-farah), laughter (al-dahik), and others.” [End of quote].

I say: Thus, we are followers, not innovators; emulators, not originators. We halt where the Salaf halted, saying what they said and refraining from what they refrained from. What sufficed them suffices us, as al-Awza‘i (may Allah the Exalted have mercy on him) said: “Patiently adhere yourself to the Sunnah, halt where the people halted, say what they said, refrain from what they refrained from, and follow the path of your righteous predecessors (al-salaf al-salih), for indeed, what sufficed them suffices you.” [Narrated by al-Lalaka’i (1/104)].