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Fatwa CenterAhaadeeth stating that Allaah's Throne is above the seven heavens
Question
salam There are many verses in the Quran which states that Allah is above the Arsh (Throne). I learnt that salafi imams believe that Arsh is above seven heavens. How many hadith are there which states that Arsh is above seven heavens. Do the ahadith related to the location of Arsh reach the level of mutawaatir?.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
There are many texts from the Book of Allaah, the Sunnah of the Prophet and the statements of the Salaf (righteous predecessors) which indicate that Allaah The Almighty is above His Throne. The Salaf confirmed that Allaah is above His Throne, without saying how this is and without resembling His Attributes with the attributes of His creatures. They also confirmed that believing in that is an obligation, and that asking about how it is, is an innovation. For more benefit, please refer to Fataawa 6707, 1360 and 92488.
Some Ahaadeeth were reported in this regard stating that the Throne of Allaah is above the heavens, among which is the Hadeeth in which the Prophet said: “If you were to ask Allaah for anything, ask Him for Al-Firdaws, for it is the middle highest point of Paradise and from it flow the rivers of Paradise, and above it is the Throne of Ar-Rahmaan (Allaah The Most Merciful).” [Al-Bukhari]
Also, Ibn Mas’ood 
said: “The distance between the first and the second heaven is that of 500 years (of travel), and between each of the seven heavens is also 500 years, and the distance between the seventh heaven and the Kursi is also 500 years, and the distance between the Kursi and the water is again 500 years. The Throne is above the water and Allaah The Almighty is above the Throne. And Allaah knows everything that you do (i.e. nothing is hidden from Him of your deeds)." [Ad-Daarimi and At-Tabaraani]. This Hadeeth is classified by Ibn Al-Qayyim and Ath-Thahabi as Saheeh (sound).
Shaikh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen 
said: “This Hadeeth is said by Ibn Mas’ood without attributing it to the Prophet but it is among the matters that cannot be said by way of personal opinion, so his statement takes the ruling of being attributed to the Prophet [i.e. this statement is considered as originally said by the Prophet]”
On the other hand, we are not aware of exactly how many Ahaadeeth were reported in this regard, and we have not come across any statement of any scholar who said that these Ahaadeeh reached the degree of Tawaatur (i.e. being reported by a group of narrators from a group of narrators, generation after generation and so forth, and they are all trustworthy people and it is absolutely impossible for them to agree on a lie).
Allaah Knows best.
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