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Al-ʽArsh (Arabic:العرش,romanized: Al-ʿArsh,lit. 'The Throne') is thethrone of God inIslamic theology. It is believed to be the largest of all thecreations of God.[1][2]
The Throne of God has figured in extensive theological debates across Islamic history with respect to the question of theanthropomorphism and corporealism of God.[3]
TheQuran mentions the throne some 25 times (33 times asAl-ʽArsh)[further explanation needed], such as in verse10:3 and23:116:
Surely your Lord is Allah Who created the heavens and the earth in six Days, then subjugated the Throne, conducting every affair. None can intercede except by His permission. That is Allah—your Lord, so worship Him ˹alone˺. Will you not then be mindful?
Exalted is Allah, the True King! There is no god ˹worthy of worship˺ except Him, the Lord of the Honourable Throne.
The Quran depicts the angels as carrying the throne of God (Surah Ghafir40:7) and praising his glory (Surah Az-Zumar39:75).
TheAyat al-Kursi (often glossed as "Verse of the footstool"), is a verse fromAl-Baqara, the secondsura of the Quran. It references the Kursi (كرسي) which is different from the Throne (عرش), and also God's greatest name,Al-Hayy Al-Qayyoom ("The Living, the Eternal").[4]
Sunni prophetic hadith say that The Throne is above the roof ofAl-Firdaus Al-'Ala, the highest level of Paradise where God's closest and most beloved servants in the hereafter shall dwell.[5]
Sunni scholars ofhadith have stated thatMuhammad said the reward for recitingAyatul Kursi after every prayer isParadise,[6] and that reciting it is a protection from the devil.[7]
I said to the Prophet: O Messenger of God, whatever has been revealed to you is greater. He said:Ayat al-Kursi, then he said: O Abu Dharr, what are the seven heavens with the Kursi except like a ring thrown into a desert land, and the preference of the Throne over the Chair is like the preference of the desert over the ring.
and on the authority ofAbdullah ibn Masud he said:[11]and His Throne was upon the waters.
The distance between the highest heaven and the world is five hundred years, and between the Kursi and the water as well, and the Throne is above the water, and God is the subjugater of the Throne, nothing of your deeds is hidden from Him.

Sufi Muslims believe God created the throne as a sign of his power and not as place of dwelling.[13]
Abu Mansur al-Baghdadi (d. 429/1037) in hisal-Farq bayn al-Firaq (The Difference between the Sects) reports that'Ali ibn Abi Talib, said: "God created the Throne as an indication of His power, not for taking it as a place for Himself."[14] The vast majority of Islamic scholars, includingSunnis (Ash'aris,Maturidis andSufis),Mu'tazilis, andShi'is (Twelvers andIsma'ilis) believe the Throne (Arabic:العرشal-'Arsh) as a symbol of God's power and authority and not as a dwelling place for Himself,[15][16][17] others describe it as an allegory, and many others said that the heart of the believer is the Throne of Allah (قلب المؤمن عرش الله), a quote criticized by Salafi Muslim scholars.[18]
Some Islamic sects, such as theKarramis and the Salafis believe that God has created it as a place of dwelling.[19][20][21]

Bearers of the Throne orḥamlat al-ʽarsh (حملة العرش) are a group ofangels inIslam. The Quran mentions them in40:7 and69:17. Otherhadiths describes them with six wings and four faces.[22] While according to a hadith transmitted fromAt-Targhib wat-Tarhib authored by ʻAbd al-ʻAẓīm ibn ʻAbd al-Qawī al-Mundhirī, the bearers of the throne were angels who shaped like arooster, with their feet on the earth and their nape supporting theThrone of God in the highest sky.[Notes 1] a number modern Islamic scholars fromImam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, and other institutes Yemen and Mauritania also agreed the soundness of this hadith by quoting the commentary fromIbn Abi al-Izz who supported this narrative.[23]
These four angels are also held to be created from different elements: One from light, one from fire, one from water and one from mercy. It is also said they are so large that a journey from their earlobes to their shoulders would take seven hundred years.[24] According to various Islamic tafsir scholars which compiled byIslamic University of Madinah andIndonesian religious ministry, the number of these angels will be added from four into eight angels during theDay of Resurrection.[25] This interpretation were based on Qur'an chapterSurah Al-Haqqa69:17.[25]
According toAl-Suyuti who quoted a Hadith which transmitted byIbn al-Mubarak, archangelIsrafil is one of the bearer of the throne.[26]
Quoting Ibnul Mubarak from a book ofaz-Zuhd; ad Durr al-Manshur, chain narration from Ibnul Mubarak to Ibn SHihab (1/92)