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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books The Emendation of A Shi‘ite Creed The Metaphysical Meaning of the Throne (Al-‘Arsh) ===================================================== ash-Shaykh Abu Ja‘far, may Allah have mercy upon him, says: "Our belief concerning the Throne is that it is the support of the whole creation."[^1]ash-Shaykh al-Mufid, may Allah have mercy upon him,comments poet says: that 'Throne' linguistically means 'kingdom': the When the dominion of Banu Marwan shall have departed,and been effaced as were Iyad and Himyar,which means when the kingdom of Banu Marwan (the Umay- yids) is destroyed and they are effaced.

Another says: "Do you think that your throne will never vanish or change?", which means, 'Do you think that your kingdom will never vanish or change?' Allah, the Almighty, relating the speech of those who describe the kingdom of the Queen of Sheba says: She has been given of everything, and she possesses a mighty throne [27:23], which means that she has got a mighty kingdom.

Then it follows from this that the Throne of Allah, the Almighty, is His Kingdom, and seating Himself upon the Throne is equiv- alent to establishing His sovereignty over His Kingdom. The Arabs often substitute istiwa’, that is, seating oneself upon, for istila’, that is, to take possession of. The poet says: Bishr has seated himself on Iraq, without recourse to sword or bloodshed, which means that he has dominated Iraq.

As for the Throne (‘arsh) which is carried by angels, it is only a portion of the Kingdom of Allah, and it is a Throne which Allah created in the seventh heaven which is carried by angels in adoration and glorification of Allah; as He has erected a house on the earth (i.e., Ka‘bah) and commanded man to make it their goal, visit it and perform the pilgrimage to it and glorify it.

It has been handed down in tradition that Allah Almighty has created a house beneath the Throne and called it al-Baytu 'l-Ma‘mur (i.e., the ever-prosperous house), to which the angels make their pilgrimage every year. Also, He established a house in the fourth heaven and named it ad-Durah, to which the angels, in obeisance to Allah, make their pilgrimage, venerate it, and accomplish the circumambulation of it; and He created al- Baytu 'l-Haram on the earth and placed it beneath ad-Durah.