Self-Subsistence

Self-Subsistence (al-Qiyām bi-nafsih) means Allah is independent of all creation; He needs none of His creatures. Every creature needs Allah. Anything that needs another is weak — and Allah is far above weakness.

Allah said: 'Indeed, Allah is free of need from the worlds' (Al Imran 3:97) — meaning Allah is completely self-sufficient from everything He created.

Important application: It is not permissible to say 'Allah dwells in the sky' — Allah created place, so He has no need of it. Likewise, it is not permissible to say 'Allah is everywhere.' The angels exist in the heavens and need them; Allah is utterly transcendent above space.

Allah does not dwell on the Throne, nor in the heavens, nor on the earth — because He created all these places and is independent of them all.

On istiwāʾ: The word *istiwāʾ* in Quranic verses is *mutashābih* (allegorical). Here it means dominion and sovereignty, not 'sitting.' Sitting is not an attribute of Allah — because sitting is an attribute of bodies and Allah is not a body.

This attribute teaches us to rely on Allah alone — for He is the Self-Sufficient who needs nothing, and we are the ones in need of Him.

Notes from the lesson: - A rule: neediness contradicts divinity, because whoever needs another is incapable, and the incapable cannot be a god. - The rational proof (the lesson's own label): 'Indeed, Allah is free from need of the worlds' - and *al-ʿālamīn* are the created beings. - Allah does not need the Throne, nor the sky, nor anything. So one does not say that the angels are Allah's helpers, and we also do not say that Allah needs the prophets, or the sky, or the Throne. - Allah has entrusted the angels with tasks, so Allah is not in need of them. - *Al-Ṣamad* in Surat al-Ikhlas: that all creatures need Allah and that He does not need creatures. It is the belief of the Muslims that Allah does not need His creation.

Allah exists without a place - This is the belief of Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jama'a: Allah exists without a place, because place is created, Allah existed before He created place, and He is free of need of everything other than Him. - The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Allah existed and nothing existed other than Him, and His Throne was upon the water" (al-Bukhari 3191). - Allah says: 'There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing' (ash-Shura 42:11). - Imam al-Tahawi said in his creed: "He is exalted above limits and ends, parts, limbs and instruments; the six directions do not contain Him as they do all created things." And he said: "The Throne and the Footstool are true, and He is free of need of the Throne and what is below it, encompassing everything and above it." - Al-Baghdadi reported from 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), without a chain: "He was, and there was no place, and He is now as He was."

Al-Istiwāʾ - The Throne is created. Allah says: 'ar-Raḥmān *istawā* over the Throne' (Ta-Ha 20:5). This is an ambiguous (*mutashābih*) verse: it has meanings that befit Allah and meanings that do not. - *Istiwāʾ* has many meanings in the language, among them: food being cooked (*istawā al-ṭaʿām*), and overpowering (*qahr*), and others. - The Quran has decisive verses and others ambiguous: 'in it are verses that are precise - they are the foundation of the Book - and others ambiguous' (Al 'Imran 3:7). The Quran is not interpreted by personal opinion. - The Throne is mentioned specifically because it is the largest of creations: however large the Throne is, Allah has overpowered it, and since He overpowered the largest creation, He overpowers all creation. Among His names is *al-Qahhār*: He overpowered the Throne and has control over it. - Al-Baghdadi reported from 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), without a chain: "Allah created the Throne to show His power, not as a place for His essence." - It is reported that Imam Malik said about *istiwāʾ*: "The how is not intelligible, the *istiwāʾ* is not unknown, believing in it is obligatory, and asking about it is an innovation" (reported by al-Lalaka'i in *Sharh Usul I'tiqad Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jama'a*).