The Greatest Verse of the Qurʾān: Āyat al-Kursī

By Bint Abdulaleem (4th Year ʿĀlimah Student, DarusSalam Seminary)

The Qurʾān is man’s divine guidance. It is a perfect book that contains comprehensive instruction regarding that which one must believe in and practice upon. Every verse is significant, and each conveys a profound message. From all the Qurʾān’s verses, Āyat al-Kursī is the greatest. This verse describes Allāh’s Oneness, His Greatness, and His Divine Attributes. Ubayy b. Kaʿb narrated:

«يَا أَبَا الْمُنْذِرِ أَتَدْرِي أَيُّ آيَةٍ مِنْ كِتَابِ اللهِ مَعَكَ أَعْظَمُ؟» قَالَ: قُلْتُ: اللهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَعْلَمُ. قَالَ: «يَا أَبَا الْمُنْذِرِ أَتَدْرِي أَيُّ آيَةٍ مِنْ كِتَابِ اللهِ مَعَكَ أَعْظَمُ؟» قَالَ: قُلْتُ: ﴿اللهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ﴾ قَالَ: فَضَرَبَ فِي صَدْرِي، وَقَالَ: «وَاللهِ لِيَهْنِكَ الْعِلْمُ أَبَا الْمُنْذِرِ»

“Allāh’s Messenger asked: ‘O Abū al-Mundhir! Do you know the verse from Allāh’s Book that, according to you, is the greatest?’ I said: ‘Allāh and His Messenger know best.’ He asked: ‘O Abū al-Mundhir! Do you know the verse from His Book that, according to you, is the greatest?’ I recited: ‘God! There is no god but Him, the All-Living, the Self-Subsisting All-Sustaining One.’ (Which is the first part of Āyat al-Kursī.) Thereupon, he struck me on my chest and said: ‘May knowledge be pleasant for you, O Abū al-Mundhir!’”[1]

Ibn ʿAbbās related: “Āyat al-Kursī is the Qurʾān’s most noble verse.”[2] And, in another narration, ʿAlī narrated that the Prophet (upon him be peace) said:

مَنْ قَرَأَ آيَةَ الْكُرْسِيِّ فِي دُبُرِ كُلِّ صَلَاةٍ مَكْتُوبَةٍ لَمْ يَمْنَعْهُ مِنْ دُخُولِ الْجَنَّةِ إِلَّا أَنْ يَمُوتَ

“Whoever recites Āyat al-Kursī after every prayer, nothing is preventing him from entering Paradise other than that he must die first.”[3]

Along with being the greatest verse in the Qurʾān, this verse ensures that one will enter Jannah. And it grants protection to the one who reads it as well as those around him.

In Sūrat al-Baqarah, Allāh beautifully mentions this verse:

اللَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ لَا تَأْخُذُهُ سِنَةٌ وَلَا نَوْمٌ لَهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ مَنْ ذَا الَّذِي يَشْفَعُ عِنْدَهُ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِ يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِشَيْءٍ مِنْ عِلْمِهِ إِلَّا بِمَا شَاءَ وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ وَلَا يَئُودُهُ حِفْظُهُمَا وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْعَظِيمُ

“God! There is no God but Him, the All-Living, the Self-Subsisting All-Sustaining One. Slumber does not overtake Him, nor does sleep. To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth. Who is it that shall intercede with Him, except by His permission? He knows what lies before them and what lies behind them. And they do not comprehend anything of His knowledge – except that which He wills. His seat of Divinity encompasses the heavens and the earth, and preserving them does not fatigue Him. For He is the Ever-Exalted, the Magnificent.”[4]

Ibn Kathīr mentioned that this verse contains ten very important wordings.[5]

The first, “There is no God but Him,” negates there being any deity worthy of worship except for Allāh.[6] He is One. And He is the only being worthy of our worship. This wording negates any other deity except for Him.

Then, there is the wording: “The All-Living.” Literally, this implies one who is alive. Zamakhsharī said that this establishes that Allāh is Ever-Lasting, never ceasing to exist.[7] And “the Self-Subsisting All-Sustaining One” means that He exists independently and is completely self-sufficient. He provides sustenance to His creation and maintains them, and no one does this except for Him.[8]

“Slumber does not overtake Him, nor does sleep.” Mankind requires sleep; when a human exerts himself, he tires. We need rest in order to function. However, despite overseeing the entire universe, Allāh does not become drowsy nor sleepy. Nothing is hidden from His infinite knowledge.[9] And He cannot be compared to His creation, not in any way. Nothing is tiresome or difficult for Him.

“To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth.” This wording shows that the entire creation is subject to His power and authority.[10] Therefore, no one can worship any being except for Him.

The fifth: “Who is it that shall intercede with Him, except by His permission?” refutes the idol-worshiping disbelievers. They claimed:

مَا نَعْبُدُهُمْ إِلَّا لِيُقَرِّبُونَا إِلَى اللَّهِ زُلْفَى

“We only worship them so that they bring us nearer to Allāh in position.”[11]

And they claimed that their idols would intercede for them.[12] Everything belongs to Him, so how can the disbelievers worship idols instead of Him!?[13] Worshiping idols does not benefit them. Allāh is telling them that intercession is only given to those whom He allows. And this refutes the idolaters’ false claim.

Then, Allāh says: “He knows what lies before them and what lies behind them.” This means that His knowledge encompasses everything that exists. Nothing is hidden from His infinite knowledge.[14] Ibn ʿAbbās mentioned that: “What lies before them” refers to the Hereafter and “What lies behind them” refers to this world.[15]

“And they do not comprehend anything of His knowledge – except that which He wills.” This means that mankind cannot comprehend even a fraction of Allāh’s knowledge. We only know what He informs us of. His knowledge is infinite.

“His seat of Divinity encompasses the heavens and the earth.” There are many opinions regarding what the “Kursī” refers to. Literally, it means “a chair.” However, such a meaning may not be suitable because He does not resemble creation in any way. Many said that it refers to the ʿArsh (trans. throne). This is because the “Kursī” is only mentioned in this verse, but the ʿArsh is mentioned elsewhere in the Qurʾān. Others said that it does not refer to the ʿArsh.[16] And some said that it is the place where one’s feet are placed, i.e. a footstool.

Ibn ʿAbbās opined that it refers to Allāh’s knowledge. He takes this opinion because he explains the next portion of the verse: “and preserving them does not fatigue Him” to mean that the preservation of what He knows, through His knowledge that encompasses the entirety of the heavens and earth, does not tire Him. In another verse, Allāh says:

رَبَّنَا وَسِعْتَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ رَحْمَةً وَعِلْمًا

“Our Lord! You have encompassed all things in your mercy and knowledge.”[17]

This means that His knowledge encompasses everything, likewise, is the wording here in Āyat al-Kursī.[18] Another reason for Ibn ʿAbbās’ opinion is that one who is knowledgeable sits on a chair when teaching.[19]

ʿAlī narrated from Allah’s Messenger (upon him be peace):

الْكُرْسِيُّ لُؤْلُؤٌ وَالْقَلَمُ لُؤْلُؤٌ وَطُولُ الْقَلَمِ سَبْعُمِائَةِ سَنَةٍ وَطُولُ الْكُرْسِيِّ حَيْثُ لَا يَعْلَمُهُ الْعَالِمُونَ

“The Kursī is a pearl. The Qalam (trans. pen) is a pearl. The length of the Qalam is a seven-hundred-year journey. And the Kursī’s length is to the extent that those with knowledge are unaware of.”[20]

Once Abū Dharr asked Allāh’s Messenger (upon him be peace) about the Kursī. He replied:

وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ مَا السَّمَوَاتُ السَّبْعُ وَالْأَرْضُونَ السَّبْعُ عِنْدَ الْكُرْسِيِّ إِلَّا كَحَلْقَةٍ مُلْقَاةٍ بِأَرْضِ فَلَاةٍ

“By He in whose hands my soul lies, the seven heavens and the earth, as compared to the Kursī, are naught except like a ring thrown in a vast desert ….”[21]

The Kursī is one example of Allāh’s greatness. It shows how infinite His power is. This relates to the next portion of the verse: “and preserving them does not fatigue Him.” Allāh preserves the heavens and the earth along with all that they contain. This does not burden Him. Rather, it is easy for Him. “For He is the Ever-Exalted, the Magnificent.”

 

Works Cited

– Ibn ʿĀshūr, Muḥammad al-Ṭāhir. Tafsīr al-Taḥrīr wa al-Tanwīr. Tunisia: al-Dār al-Tūnusīyah, 1984.

– Abū Ḥayyān, Muḥammad b. Yūsuf. Tafsīr al-Baḥr al-Muḥīṭ. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmīyah, 2010.

– Ibn Kathīr, Ismāʿīl b. ʿUmar. Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm. Riyadh: Dār Ṭaybah, 1420/1999.

– al-Qurṭubī, Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad b. Aḥmad b. Abī Bakr. al-Jāmiʿ lī Aḥkām al-Qurʾān. Beirut: Risalah Publishers, 1427/2006.

– al-Ṭabarī, Muḥammad b. Jarīr. Tafsīr al-Ṭabarī. Beirut: Muʾassasat al-Risālah, 1415/1994.

 

[1] Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ lī Aḥkām al-Qurʾān, 4:263.

[2] Ibid., 4:267.

[3] Sunan al-Nasāʾī, #9848.

[4] Q, 2:255. Translation from Ahmad Zaki’s The Gracious Qur’an: A Modern-Phrased Interpretation in English, Lucent Interpretations, LLC (Lisle, IL: 2009), 71-72.

[5] Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm, 1:678.

[6] Tafsīr al-Ṭabarī, 2:126.

[7] Abū Ḥayyān, al-Baḥr al-Muḥīṭ, 2:287.

[8] Tafsīr al-Ṭabarī, 2:127.

[9] Ibn ʿĀshūr, Tafsīr al-Taḥrīr wa al-Tanwīr, 3:20.

[10] Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm, 1:679.

[11] Q, 39:3.

[12] Abū Ḥayyān, al-Baḥr al-Muḥīṭ, 2:288.

[13] Tafsīr al-Ṭabarī, 2:128.

[14] Ibid.

[15] Abū Ḥayyān, al-Baḥr al-Muḥīṭ, 2:289.

[16] Abū Ḥayyān, al-Baḥr al-Muḥīṭ, 3:23.

[17] Q, 40:7.

[18] Tafsīr al-Ṭabarī, 2:130.

[19] Ibn ʿĀshūr, Tafsīr al-Taḥrīr wa al-Tanwīr, 3:23.

[20] Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ lī Aḥkām al-Qurʾān, 4:263.

[21] Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm, 1:679.