By Hakīm al-Ummah Mawlānā Ashraf ‘Ali Thānawi Translated by Mawlānā Hamood Aleem “He (Allah Most High) then firmly established (istawā) Himself over the Throne” (Qur’an 7:54) means He firmly established Himself over the Kingly Throne and began decreeing orders (ahkāms) in the heavens and the earth. In the tafsīr (exegesis) of [the verse] “He then firmly established Himself over the Throne”, it is safer to adopt silence in agreement with the methodology of the salaf (pious predecessors) and that is also my view although the muta’akhirīn (scholars of the later generations) have opened the doors for ta’wīl (interpretation). The ta’wīl…