Did Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (A.S) believe that Arsh was uncreated?

Introduction

One of the allegations that the non-Ahmadis started making recently is that the Promised Messiah (A.S) believed that the Arsh (Throne) of Allah is uncreated. They use Da’if ahadith to prove that he contradicted the Prophet (S.A.W) and thus, he is a false prophet.

To prove he denied Arsh being the creation of Allah, they show the following passage:

It is not the belief of the Muslims that the ‘Arsh is a physical or created thing on which God is seated. You may go through the Qur’an from the beginning to the end and you will not find it stated that the ‘Arsh is a limited and created thing. God has repeatedly said in the Holy Qur’an that He is the Creator of all things that have any existence. He is the Creator of heaven and earth, and souls and all their faculties. He is Self-Existing and everything exists because of Him. Every particle that exists is His creation. He has nowhere stated that the ‘Arsh is something physical of which He is the Creator…. Wherever the word ‘Arsh has been used in the Holy Qur’an its meaning is the Greatness and Majesty and Supremacy of God. That is why it is not included among created things. There are four manifestations of the Greatness and Majesty of God Almighty. The Vedas call them four gods, but according to the idiom of the Holy Qur’an they are angels.

[Nasim-e-Da‘wat, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol.19, pp. 453-456]
[English from Essence of Islam, vol 1, pg 167]

Explanation

Firstly, no verse in the Holy Quran or any authentic saying of the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) proves the Arsh of Allah is something material/physical or that it is created.

Secondly, Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim (the top 2 books of ahadith) prove that Arsh was there before Allah created the creation. Not that Arsh itself is created.

When Allah created the creation as He was upon the Throne, He put down in His Book: Verily, My mercy predominates My wrath.

[Sahih Muslim 2751a]

When Allah created the creations, He wrote with Him on His Throne: ‘My Mercy has preceded My Anger.’

[Sahih al-Bukhari 7453]

Thirdly, the words of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (A.S) that were quoted in the beginning are pretty clear. He says the same thing that ‘Arsh is not physical/material, and neither Allah is seated on it. This is because the belief that God is upon a physical object is shirk as it implies Allah is a limited being.

Fourthly, this is exactly what the context of the passage is but the anti-Ahmadis won’t show you that. I will translate the passage from the book Naseem-e-Da’wat. This is the same page as the reference pasted above. Someone is asking him a question about the Muslim view of Allah and how he thinks it limits His attributes.

Question: “It is the belief of the Muslims that God is sitting on the ‘Arsh which is held by 4 angels. This proves God is limited and not self sustaining (Qaim ba Izzat). Since He is limited, His knowledge is limited and He cannot be ALL Knowing.”

Answer: It is not the belief of the Muslims that the ‘Arsh is a physical or created thing on which God is seated….

Again, this is very self-explanatory. Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (A.S) is refuting the anthropomorphic beliefs of Muslims by showing that Allah isn’t over some physical creation of His.

Fifthly, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (A.S) has advised the Ahmadis to not delve into such useless debates. We must accept the attributes of Allah as is and without questioning how. He says:

I won’t say whether ‘Arsh is created or uncreated. Its interpretation must be left to God.

Those who have called it created have also erred as God is shown to be limited due to it and those who call it uncreated are going against Tawheed (Unity of Allah). This is because “God is the Creator of All things” and if the ‘Arsh is uncreated, it’s not counted in that. A believer monothiest can never accept it.

I don’t say anything regarding it. God knows best… God communicates in metaphors, we believe in it and leave the interpretation up to Allah.

[Malfuzat, vol 6, pg 634]

This further clarifies his position that he only denied ‘Arsh being a physical/material created thing. Otherwise, we are taught to believe in the words of Allah and leave the interpretation to Him.

Sunni Refutations

There is no verse in the Quran that shows the ‘Arsh is physical/material and is created, nor any hadith in Bukhari or Muslim that says ‘Arsh is created. On the contrary, Bukhari, and Muslim prove ‘Arsh was there before Allah created His creation.

Thus, Sunnis only have 2 weak hadith or a sole statement from Ibn Umar (R.A) to prove ‘Arsh was created.

1) First is from Ibn Majah

“I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, where was our Lord before He created His creation?’ He said: He was above the clouds, below which was air, and above which was air and water. Then He created His Throne above the water.'”

[Sunan Ibn Majah 182]

This hadith is declared Da’if (weak). (Proof – Click on الحكم على الحديث)

1. Shuaib Al Arna’ut
2. Sheikh Albani
3. Majlis-e-Ilmi Darul Dawah Delhi

2) Another is from Tirmidhi

I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah! Where was our Lord before He created His creation?’ He said: ‘He was (above) the clouds – no air was under him, no air was above him, and He created His Throne upon the water.’

[Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3109]

This hadith is declared Da’if (weak). (Proof – Click on الحكم على الحديث)

1. Shuaib Al Arna’ut
2. Majlis-e-Ilmi Darul Dawah Delhi

3) Third is a stand-alone saying of Ibn Umar (R.A) from Mustadrak Hakim.

Again, we don’t even need to explain it.

• The narration can be interpreted in a metaphorical way to make sure it doesn’t contradict the narrations posted above.
• It is not even hujjah (binding) on anyone as the saying of a single companion.
• It clearly contradicts Quran and the sayings of Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) in Bukhari and Muslim.

Conclusion

Most of these allegations are a result of ignorance. Once someone actually reads the whole text on their own, all their misunderstandings will go away. But this is not what ignorants like to do. Thus, they never get a chance to self-reflect or understand the text they are copy-pasting.

In summary, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (A.S) is refuting the concept that ‘Arsh is something physical/material, upon which Allah sits. This is because such a belief is shirk as it limits Allah to a specific place. Otherwise, he advised us not to delve into such useless debates, rather we must accept the words of Allah as is.

We see the need for this advice in today’s time more than ever. Debating the attributes of Allah has been made into one of the largest differences amongst Muslims, and even the main argument for many people to takfir each other. Since the Messiah (A.S) was supposed to unite the ummah, it is clear why he would advise us to ignore such useless debates and focus on our spirituality.