Tafsir Ayat Al-Kursi from Tafsir of Imam Ibn Kathir

"Allah! None has the right to be worshipped but He, the Ever Living, the One Who sustains and protects all that exists. Neither slumber nor sleep overtakes Him. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. Who is he that can intercede with Him except with His permission? He know what happens to them (His creatures) in this world, and what will happen to them in the Hereafter. and they will never compass anything of His Knowledge except that which He wills. His Kursi extends over the heavens and the earth, and He feels no fatigue in guarding and preserving them. And He is the Most High, the Most Great."

~ Surah Al-Baqarah Ayat Al-Kursi (v.255)

Ayat Al Kursi has Ten Complete Arabic Sentences

Allah's statement,
Allah! None has the right to be worshipped but He
mentions that Allah is the One and Only Lord of all creation.


Allah's statement,
Al-Hayyul-Qayyum
testifies that Allah is the Ever Living, Who never dies, Who sustains everyone and everything,. All creation stands in need of Allah and totally relies on Him, while He is the Most Rich, Who stands in need of nothing created. Similarly, Allah said, "And among his signs is that the heaven and the earth stand by His command." (Surah Ar-Rum Ayah 25)


Neither slumber nor sleep overtakes Him
means, no shortcoming, unawareness or ignorance ever touches Allah. Rather, He is aware of, and controls what every soul earns, has perfect watch over everything, nothing escapes His knowlegde, and no secret matter is secret to Him. Among His perfect attributes, is the fact that He is never effected by slumber or sleep. therefore Allah's statement, "Neither slumber nor sleep overtakes Him" indicates that no unawareness due to slumber or sleep ever overtakes Allah. Allah said afterwards,

nor sleep
which is stronger than slumber. It is recorded in the Sahih that Abu Musa said, The Messenger of Allah delivered a speech regarding four words:
"Allah does not sleep, and it does not befit His majesty that He sleeps. He lowers the scales and raises them. The deeds of the day are resurrected in front of Him before the deeds before the deeds of the night, and the deeds of the night before the deeds of day. His Veil is light, or fire, and if He removes it, the rays from His Face would burn whatever His sight reaches of His creation." (Sahih Muslim 1:161)


Allah's statement,
To him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth
indicated that everyone is a servant for Allah, a part of his kingdom and under His power and authority. Similarly, Allah said "There is none in the heavens and the earth but comes unto the Most Gracious (Allah) as a servant. Verily, He knows each one of them, and has counted them a full counting. And everyone of them will come to Him alone on the Day of Resurrection (without any Helper, or protector or defender)." (Surah Maryam Ayah's 93-95)


Allah's statement
Who is he that can intercede with Him except with His permission?
is similar to His statements, "And there are many angels in the heavens, whose intercession will avail nothing except after Allah has given leave for whom He wills and is pleased with." (Surah An-Najm Ayah 26)

and, "They cannot intercede except for him with whome He is pleased." (Surah Al-Anbiya Ayah 28)

These Ayat assert Allah's greatness, pride, and grace, and that no one dares to intercede with Him on behalf of anyone else, except by His permission. Indeed, the Hadith about the intercession, states that the Prophet said, "I will stand under the Throne and fall in prostration, and Allah will allow me to remain in that position as much as He wills. I will thereafter be told, "Raise your head, speak and you will be heard, intercede and your intercession will be accepted". The Prophet then said, "He will allow me a proportion whom I will enter into Paradise." (Sahih Muslim 1:180)


Allah's statement,
He knows what happens to them (His creatures) in this world, and what will happen to them in the Hereafter
this refers to His perfect knowledge of all creation; its past, present and future. Similarly, Allah said that the angels proclaimed; "And we (angels) descend not except by the command of your Lord (O Muhammad ). to Him belongs what is before us and what is behind us, and what is between those two; and your Lord is never forgetful." (Surah Maryam Ayah 64)


Allah's statement,
And they will never compass anything of His Knowledge except that which He wills
asserts the fact that no one attains any part of Allah's knowledge except what Allah conveys and allows. this part of the Ayah indicates that no one ever acquires knowledge of Allah and in His Attributes, except what He conveys to them. For instance Allah said, "But they will never compass anything of His knowledge." (Surah Ta-Ha Ayah 110)


Allah said,
His Kursi extends over the heavens and the earth.
Waki' narrated in his Tafsir that Ibn Abbas said, "Kursi is the footstool, and no one is able to give due consideration to [Allah's] Throne." (At-Tabarani 12:39)

Al-Hakim recorded this Hadith in his Mustadrak (Al-Hakim 2:282) from Ibn Abbas who did not relate it to the . Al-Hakim said, "It is Sahih according to the criteria of the Two Sahihs, and they (Al-Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it."

In addition, Ad-Dahhak said that Ibn Abbas said, "If the seven heavens and the seven earths were flattened and laid side by side, they would add up to the size of a ring in a desert, compared to the Kursi." (Ibn Abi Hatim 3:981)


Allah said,
And He feels no fatigue in guarding and preservng them
meaning, it does not burden or cause Him fatigue to protect the heavens and earth and all that is in between them. Rather, this is an easy matter fo Him. Further, Allah sustains everything, has perfect watch over everything, nothing ever escapes His knowledge and no matter is ever a secret to Him. All matters are insignificant, modest and humble before Him. He is the Most Rich, worthy of all praise. He does, what He will, and no one can ask Him about what He does, while they perfect alertness concerning everything. He is the Most High, the Greatest, there is no deity worthy of worship except Him, and no Lord other than Him.


Allah's statement,
And he is the Most High, the Most Great
is similar to His statement, "the Most Great, the Most High." (Surah Ar-Rad Ayah 9)

These and similar Ayat and authentic Hadiths about Allah's Attributes must be treated the way the Salaf (righteous ancestors) treated them by accepting their apparent meanings without equating them [with the attributes of the creation] or altering their apparent meaning.

Abridged under the supervision of Shaykh Safiur-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri