Tafseer of The Reality · Al-Haaqqa · 69:17
And the angels are at its edges. And there will bear the Throne of your Lord above them, that Day, eight [of them].
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His saying: وَالْمَلَكُ عَلَى أَرْجَائِهَا (and the angels at its edges), he said: at its extremities.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Yaʿqūb related to us, on the authority of Jaʿfar, on the authority of Saʿīd, concerning His saying: وَالْمَلَكُ عَلَى أَرْجَائِهَا (and the angels at its edges), he said: at the borders of the heaven.
Mūsā ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Masrūqī related to me, saying: Abū Usāma related to us, on the authority of al-Ajlaḥ, who said: I asked al-Ḍaḥḥāk: what are "arjāʾu-hā"? He said: its borders.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to me, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning وَالْمَلَكُ عَلَى أَرْجَائِهَا (and the angels at its edges): at its borders.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, concerning وَالْمَلَكُ عَلَى أَرْجَائِهَا (and the angels at its edges), he said: it has reached me that they are its regions. Qatāda said: at its sides.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, concerning وَالْمَلَكُ عَلَى أَرْجَائِهَا (and the angels at its edges), he said: its sides.
Al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ashyab related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab: the "arjāʾ" are the borders of the heaven.
He said: al-Ashyab related to us, saying: Abū ʿAwāna related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, concerning وَالْمَلَكُ عَلَى أَرْجَائِهَا (and the angels at its edges), he said: upon that part of it which has not been torn open.
Muḥammad ibn Sinān al-Qazzāz related to us, saying: Ḥusayn al-Ashqar related to us, saying: Abū Kudayna related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His saying: وَالْمَلَكُ عَلَى أَرْجَائِهَا (and the angels at its edges), he said: upon that part of it which has not been torn open.
And His saying: وَيَحْمِلُ عَرْشَ رَبِّكَ فَوْقَهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ ثَمَانِيَةٌ (and eight shall bear the Throne of your Lord above them on that Day). The people of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) differed concerning what is meant by His saying ثَمَانِيَةٌ (eight). Some of them said: what is meant by this is eight rows of angels, whose number none knows except Allah.
* Mention of those who said that:
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Ṭalq related to us, on the authority of Ẓuhayr, on the authority of al-Suddī, on the authority of Abū Mālik, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: وَيَحْمِلُ عَرْشَ رَبِّكَ فَوْقَهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ ثَمَانِيَةٌ (and eight shall bear the Throne of your Lord above them on that Day), he said: eight rows of angels, whose number none knows except Allah.
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my paternal uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His saying: وَيَحْمِلُ عَرْشَ رَبِّكَ فَوْقَهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ ثَمَانِيَةٌ (and eight shall bear the Throne of your Lord above them on that Day), he said: they are the rows behind the rows.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Wāḍiḥ related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, on the authority of Yazīd, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His saying: وَيَحْمِلُ عَرْشَ رَبِّكَ فَوْقَهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ ثَمَانِيَةٌ (and eight shall bear the Throne of your Lord above them on that Day), he said: eight rows of angels.
It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, who said: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd related to us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His saying: وَيَحْمِلُ عَرْشَ رَبِّكَ فَوْقَهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ ثَمَانِيَةٌ (and eight shall bear the Throne of your Lord above them on that Day), he said: some of them said: eight rows whose number none knows except Allah. And some of them said: eight angels in the form of the ibex (al-waʿla).
And others said: no, what is meant by this is eight angels.
* Mention of those who said that:
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His saying: وَيَحْمِلُ عَرْشَ رَبِّكَ فَوْقَهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ ثَمَانِيَةٌ (and eight shall bear the Throne of your Lord above them on that Day), he said: eight angels. And he said: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Today four bear it, and on the Day of Resurrection eight." And the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Verily, their feet are in the seventh earth, and verily, their shoulders rise above the heavens, and upon them rests the Throne." Ibn Zayd said concerning the four: he said: it has reached us that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "When Allah created them, He said: Do you know why I created you? They said: You created us, our Lord, for whatever You will. He said to them: You shall bear My Throne. Then He said: Ask Me of strength for whatever you will, and I shall place it in you. Then one of them said: The Throne of our Lord was once upon the water, so place in me the strength of the water. He said: I have placed in you the strength of the water. And another said: Place in me the strength of the heavens. He said: I have placed in you the strength of the heavens. And another said: Place in me the strength of the earth. He said: I have placed in you the strength of the earth and the mountains. And another said: Place in me the strength of the winds. He said: I have placed in you the strength of the winds. Then He said: Bear! And they placed the Throne upon their shoulders, but they could not move. He said: Then there came another knowledge — for their knowledge was only that with which they had asked for the strength. Then He said to them: Say: there is no power and no strength except with Allah (lā ḥawla wa-lā quwwata illā bi-llāh). Then they said: there is no power and no strength except with Allah, and Allah placed in them of the power and the strength what their knowledge had not reached, and so they bore it."
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, who said: it has reached us that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "They are today four" — namely the bearers of the Throne — "and when the Day of Resurrection comes, Allah reinforces them with four others, so that they become eight, and Allah has said: وَيَحْمِلُ عَرْشَ رَبِّكَ فَوْقَهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ ثَمَانِيَةٌ (and eight shall bear the Throne of your Lord above them on that Day)."
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, on the authority of Maysara, concerning His saying: وَيَحْمِلُ عَرْشَ رَبِّكَ فَوْقَهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ ثَمَانِيَةٌ (and eight shall bear the Throne of your Lord above them on that Day), he said: their feet are in the deepest grounds; they cannot raise their gazes because of the rays of the light.
