Do we affirm that Allah has two feet, as is mentioned in the mawqoof Hadith= what a companion said and not the Prophet peace be upon him) and the isnad=narration of the hadith which ends with Ibn ‘Abbas, “The kursiy (foot stool) is the place of the feet”?
Or do we affirm that Allah has one foot, as it says in the hadeeth: “… until the Lord of Glory places His foot in it (Hell)” (or, according to another report, “… His foot on ”)?
If Allah has two feet, will Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, place both of His feet on Hell, taking into consideration the fact that the words of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) “His foot” appears in the genitive (or possessive) and as we know, the genitive singular is general in meaning?
Answer
Praise be to Allah.
One of the confirmed attributes of Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, is the foot.
The evidence for that is the report narrated by al-Bukhārī (6661) and Muslim (2848) from Anas ibn Maalik, according to which the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said:
“Hell will keep saying, ‘Are there any more (to come)?’ until the Lord of Glory, may He be blessed and exalted, places His foot on it, then it will say, ‘Enough, enough, by Your glory!’ And all its parts will be integrated together.
Al-Bukhārī (4850) and Muslim (2847) narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said:
“Hell, and Paradise disputed, and Hell said: ‘I have been favored with the arrogant and proud.’ Paradise said: ‘What is the matter with me, that no one will enter me except the weak, humble and downtrodden?’ Allah, may He be blessed and exalted, said to Paradise:
‘You are My mercy by which I will show mercy to whomsoever I will of My slaves.’ And He said to Hell: ‘You are My punishment with which I will punish whomsoever I will of My slaves. And each of you will be full.’
As for Hell, it will not be full until Allah, may He be blessed and exalted, places His foot on it and it says, ‘Enough, enough.’ Then it will be full, and all its parts will be integrated together, and Allah will not treat any of His creation unjustly. As for Paradise, Allah will create a creation just for it.”
This indicates that it is confirmed that Allah, may He be exalted, has a foot.
Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “The Kursiy (foot stool) is the place of the two feet, and the size of Throne cannot be known.”
This was narrated by Ibn Khuzaymah in at-Tawhid, 1/248, no. 154; Ibn Abi Shaybah in al-‘Arsh, 61; ad-Daarimi in ar-Radd ‘ala al-Muraysi; ‘Abdullah ibn al-Imam Ahmad in as-Sunnah; and al-Haakim in al-Mustadrak, 2/282 – he classed it as sahih=Authentic according to the conditions of the two shaykhs (al-Bukhārī and Muslim), and adh-Dhahabi agreed with him. It was also classed as sahih=Authentic by al-Albani in Mukhtasar al-‘Uluw, p. 102; and by Ahmad Shaakir in ‘Umdat at-Tafsir, 2/163.
Abu Moosa al-Ash‘ari (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Kursiy is the place for the two feet, and it creaks as a saddle creaks.
Narrated by ‘Abdullah ibn al-Imam Ahmad in as-Sunnah; Ibn Abu Shaybah in al-‘Arsh, 60; and by Ibn Jareer, al-Bayhaqi and others. Its isnad=narration was classed as sahih=Authentic in al-Fath, 8/47 and by al-Albani in Mukhtasar al-‘Uluw, p. 123-124
These two reports confirm that Allah, may He be exalted, has two feet, and this is the belief of Ahlus-Sunnah wa’l-Jama’ah.
Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jama’ah=Mainstream Muslims who follow Prophet Muhammed peace be upon him and are those who adhere to the Sunnah and who unite upon it, not turning to anything else, whether that be in matters of belief (‘Aqedah) or matters of actions which are subject to sharia rulings. Hence, they are called Ahl al-Sunnah because they adhere to it (the Sunnah), and they called Ahl al-Jama’ah because they are united (mujtami’oon) in following it.
If you examine the followers of bid’ah (innovation), you will find that they differ concerning that which they are following, with regard to beliefs, methodology and practices, which indicates that their being far removed from the Sunnah is commensurate with the extent to which they have introduced innovations.
Imam Abu ‘Ubayd al-Qaasim ibn Salaam (may Allah have mercy on him) said: These hadiths which say that our Lord smiles at the despair of His slaves when things will soon change, and that Hell will not be filled until your Lord places His foot on it, and that the Kursiy is the place for the two feet – these Hadiths, as narrated, are true in our opinion.
They were narrated from trustworthy narrators to other trustworthy narrators. But if we are asked about their meaning, we do not explain them, and we have never seen any scholar discuss their meanings.
Narrated by al-Bayhaqi in al-Asma’ wa’s-Sifaat, 2/198; Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr in at-Tamheed, 7/149
In Fataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa’imah (2/376) it says:
“What we must do is affirm that which Allah has affirmed for Himself, such as two hands, two feet, fingers and other attributes that are mentioned in the Qur’an and Sunnah, in a manner that is befitting to Allah, may He be glorified, without distorting the meaning, discussing how, likening Him to His creation or denying any of His attributes, because He, may He be glorified, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Say (O Muhammad (Peace be upon him)): “He is Allah, (the) One.Allah-us-Samad (The Self-Sufficient Master, whom all creatures need, He neither eats nor drinks).He begets not, nor was He begotten. And there is none co-equal or comparable unto Him.”
[al-Ikhlaas 112:1-3]
“There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer.”
[ash-Shoora 42:11].
So, we take these (attributes) as true in a real sense, not metaphorical. As for going to extremes in affirming attributes that are not mentioned in the Qur’an or sunnah, we must refrain from doing so.
Standing Committee for Academic Research and Issuing Fatwas
Bakr Abu Zayd, ‘Abd al-‘Azeez Aal ash-Shaykh, Saalih al-Fawzaan, ‘Abdullah ibn Ghadyaan, ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn ‘Abdullah ibn Baaz. End quote.
Shaykh ‘Abd Ar-Rahmaan al-Barraak (may Allah preserve him) said:
This hadith confirms that Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, has a foot. Ahl as-Sunnah affirm that Allah has what is mentioned in this hadith in a true sense, as they affirm all other divine attributes, as they affirm that He has two hands and two eyes, and they say that He, may He be exalted, has two feet, as is mentioned in the well-known report from Ibn ‘Abbas that describes the Kursiy (footstool) and says that it is the place for the feet – i.e., the feet of the Lord, may He be glorified and exalted.
Important Note:
Ahl-ul-Sunnah wal-Jama`ah’s=Mainstream Muslims belief regarding Allah’s Names and Attributes is that they absolutely believe in all those Attributes stated in the Qur’an and those authentically reported from the Prophet (peace be upon him) without Ta’wil (allegorical interpretation), Tashbih (comparison), Tahrif (distortion of the meaning) or Ta`til (denial). Moreover, they believe that no attribute of imperfection is attributed to Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He).
“Say: He is Allah, the One and Only; Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him.”
Surah Al-Ikhlas= Chapter the Sincerity (114)
Ans verse of the Throne Quran (2:255)
The view about the feet and hands is the same, and there is no room for differentiation.
End quote from Sharh al-Waasitah, p. 172
What is proven is that Allah, may He be exalted, will place His foot on Hell. We believe in this, but we stop at this point and refrain from going further (in discussion). We do not say that He will place both of His feet on it, just as we do not
say that He wrote the Torah with His two hands. Rather we adhere to what has been narrated, because with regard to the divine attributes, the matter is based on tawqeef= a companion said it and not the Prophet peace be upon him) (i.e., limiting it only to what has been narrated in sound texts).
Allah knows best.
Almighty Allah is the highest and most knowledgeable, and the attribution of knowledge to him is the safest.
Right from Almighty Allah and wrong from me and Satan
Prepared by Mohamad Mostafa Nassar- Australia.
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Arrogance is not only a sign of insecurity, but also a sign of immaturity. Mature and fully realised persons can get their points across, even emphatically without demeaning or intimidating others.