Faith Friday is a weekly deep dive into a specific passage in a religious text. The goal is to engage in critical thinking about a faith topic’s spiritual, historical, and cultural meaning, then use that discussion to inform the annotations of the text on Poetry Genius.

Welcome to the first Faith Friday of 2014. We’ll kick off the year with what is considered the most excellent verse in Islam, a religion practiced by over one billion people around the globe.

Introduction

Islam’s holy text, the Qur'an, is sectioned into different chapters called suras (here is a list). The second and longest sura is called Sura al-Baqarah (the Chapter of the Cow), and in it we find verse 255, also know as the Verse of the Throne.

God there is no god but He, the Living, the Everlasting. Slumber seizes Him not, neither sleep; to Him belongs all that is in the heavens and the earth. Who is there that shall intercede with Him save by His leave? He knows what lies before them and what is after them, and they comprehend not anything of His knowledge save such as He wills. His Throne comprises the heavens and earth; the preserving of them oppresses Him not; He is the All-high, the All-glorious.

Much of the extraquranic teaching (including many ahadith, traditional accounts of the sayings and deeds of Muhammad) emphasizes the importance of this verse. It’s the heart of the holy book, and it is believed to bring many benefits to those who recite its powerful words.

As such, the verse has been the source of inspiration, meditation, and prayer for centuries. It summarizes the holy attributes of Allah and serves both as a means of worship and supplication (du'a).

Annotations

An annotated English interpretation of this verse can be found here. Look through the notes for this verse and read some of the context surrounding it. Feel free to add in your own observations there as suggestions or annotations.

Prompts

Here are some questions to get you thinking.

• Had you heard of the Throne Verse before? Do you recite it?
• What can be said about the style in which the verse is written? Do you see any patterns or parallels drawn?
• What connections, if any, can you draw between this verse and other important verses from other faiths?
• Does anything stand out when you read the English interpretation? What parts could be better informed by the original Arabic meaning?
• What questions do you have about this verse or about what it means to Muslims around the world?

Here is the original Arabic text for the Ayatul Kursi.

اللّهُ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ
لاَ تَأْخُذُهُ سِنَةٌ وَلاَ نَوْمٌ
لَّهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الأَرْضِ
مَن ذَا الَّذِي يَشْفَعُ عِنْدَهُ إِلاَّ بِإِذْنِهِ
يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ
وَلاَ يُحِيطُونَ بِشَيْءٍ مِّنْ عِلْمِهِ إِلاَّ بِمَا شَاء
وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضَ
وَلاَ يَؤُودُهُ حِفْظُهُمَا
وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْعَظِيم

the Ayatul-kursee is often called the Throne verse by mistake…“kursee” means footstool throne in arabic is arsh.Its an important correction coz the whole verse teaches how God has no human attributes such as “slumber” and He is not contained within our space-time dimention “..The eternal…”

remember kursee is a footstool not a throne so the verse goes “His footstool spreads over the heavens and the earth.”…this shows His Immense power

@OmarMasombuka That’s a very good point! This annotation explains in a little more detail this meaning of the original Arabic word.

i read the verse.The style is very direct,almost business-like,because of the serious subject-matter (teaching about Allah) it is not surprising,teaching humans about Allah is no light work.

The pattern within the verse is about power,the attempt to convey this is so stressed that it is repeated a grand totall of 12 times!

Similar have been attempted in the old testament book of Job from chapter 38-42…I still think the Ayatul-Kursee is far dramatic.
As I said before,the kursee is a footstool… Allah’s footstool is larger to the universe’s size….wow!

Very true re: the style.

And good call on the comparison to Job 38 here. I was thinking of the Old Testament passage but couldn’t remember where it was. Here are some striking similarities:

From Job:

Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? […] Who then is able to stand against me? Who has a claim against me that I must pay?

From Qur'an:

Who is there that shall intercede with Him save by His leave?

It’s interesting that the rhetorical question is used in both texts (just like some of the diction is mirrored as explained here). The questions ask who, among all of God’s creation, has power over God or more power than God – the answer is obviously no one.

@dalmo true….The rhetorical questions are meant to show how human intellect is limited in comparison to an All-Knowing God…
The desired end-result is for the human to know is All-Knowing and whatever you are going through,dnt u dare question His Wisdom…the sufi poem goes
“what does the ant know about the beautifull patterns of the persian carpet?”

The other part which is interesting to me is that He is All-Powerfull.When disaster strikes it is He who caused it and He can remove it (no one else).Dont run anywhere else except to Him.A saying goes
“the is a blessing in poverty”

that blessing is being humble.God is saying compare your power and wisdom to Mine and know your place mortal!