‘ARSH - العرش
Literally: A roof. A ceiling. A canopy. A throne. Sublimity. Highness. The sublime sky.
Any place where the qoudrah and sovereignty of Allah manifest.
‘Arsh encompasses all the universe. The name and attributes of Allah such as ‘ilm and qoudrah also encompasses everything.
‘Arsh is quite a profound, deep and subtle matter. Its comprehending and understanding requisites an important level of ‘ilm and ma’nawî attainments.
The âyahs indicate ‘arsh in Al-Qur’an Al-Hakîm:
(Qur’an 7:54) (Qur’an 9:129) (Qur’an 10:3) (Qur’an 11:7) (Qur’an 13:2) (Qur’an 17:42) (Qur’an 20:5) (Qur’an 21:22) (Qur’an 23:86-116) (Qur’an 25:59) (Qur’an 27:26) (Qur’an 32:4) (Qur’an 39:75) (Qur’an 40:7-15) (Qur’an 43:82) (Qur’an 57:4) (Qur’an 69:17) (Qur’an 81:20) (Qur’an 85:15)
Some parts from Risale-i Nur on the ‘arsh:
“As a consequence of this vast mystery, He ordered the universe and arranged it amazingly and wonderfully with different formations one over the other from particles, which are the tiniest level of creatures, to the samâwât, and from the first level of the samâwât to al-‘arsh al-â’dham. Each samâ is like the roof of a different ‘âlam, an ‘arsh for rubûbiyyah, a centre for Ilahî disposal.” The Words ( 589 )
“The eight levels of Jannah are one above the other, the roof of all of them is al-‘arsh al-â’dham. If there are walled circles round a conical mountain, one within the other and one above the other from its foot to the summit, the circles are one over the other and look to one another, but do not prevent each other seeing the sun. There are also various riwâyât of Hadiths indicating that the Jannahs are in a manner close to this.” The Words ( 516 )
“In just the same way, although the Zuljalâl One, Whose subjugated soldiers are the suns and stars and Who is the owner of the command of كُنْ فَيَكُونُ , is closer to all things than everything, all things are infinitely distant from Him. If you want to enter the hudhur of His grandeur without veil, you have to pass through seventy thousands of veils which pertain to darkness and nûr, that is, the veils pertain to material and existences, and the Names and attributes, and divest from the thousands of particular and universal degrees of manifestation of each Name, and raise to the ‘arsh al-â’dham which is the place of manifestation of His Ism al-Â’dham by passing through the most elevated levels of His attributes, and if you are not the object of favour and attraction, it is necessary to work and follow the path of ma’nawî progression of ranks for thousands of years.” The Sixteenth Word-Third Ray
“Anyone who sees with his heart and any walî of perfection can, through his ma’nawî journeying, traverse in forty days the ‘arsh and the sphere of the Names and attributes. And certain persons, even, like Shaykh Geylani and Imam-i Rabbani, truthfully recorded their rûh’s ascensions as far as the ‘arsh, which lasted a minute. Furthermore, there is the coming and going of the malâikah, which are luminous bodies, from the ‘arsh to the earth and from the earth to the ‘arsh in a short period of time.” The Words ( 598 )
“Similarly, Ar-Rasûl Al-Akram ‘Alayhissalâtu Wassalâm, the lord of all the awliyâ, opened up a mighty highway with his mi’raj, which lasting forty minutes rather than forty years, was the supreme karâmât of his walâyah, and which he made not only with his heart and rûh, but also with his body, and his senses, and his subtle faculties. He rose to the very highest degrees of the haqiqahs of îmân. He mounted by the steps of the Mi’raj to ‘arsh, and at the level of "Qab Qawsayn" witnessed with his own eyes with the ‘ayn al-yaqîn îmân in Allah and îmân in the âkhirah, the greatest of the haqiqahs of îmân; he entered Jannah and saw eternal happiness. Then he left open the highway he had revealed through the door of the Mi’raj, and all the awliyâ of his ummah travel on their ma’nawî journeyings under the shadow of the Mi’raj, with the rûh and heart, in accordance with their degrees.” The Letters ( 362 )
طُوبَى لِمَنْ عَرَفَ حَدَّهُ وَلَمْ يَتَجَاوَزْ طَوْرَهُ That is, “Happy is the man who knows his limits and does not exceed them." The sun has manifestations from a particle of glass to a droplet of water, a pool, the sea and the moon to the planets. Each holds the sun's reflection and image in accordance with its capacity and knows its limits. In accordance with its capacity, a drop of water says, "There is a reflection of the sun on me." But it cannot say, "I, too, am a mirror like the sea." In just the same way, there are degrees in the ranks of the awliyâ, in accordance with the variety of manifestations of the names of Allah. Each of the names of Allah has manifestations like a sun, from the heart to the ‘arsh. The heart, too, is a place where the names of Allah manifest, but it cannot say, "I, too, am like the ‘Arsh." Thus, those who traverse those ranks in a spoiled way and with pride hold their tiny hearts equal to the ‘Arsh, instead of knowing their impotence, poverty, fault and defect and having sajda entreatingly before the court of ulûhiyyah, which are the basis of ‘ubûdiyyah. They confuse their drop-like ranks with the ocean-like ranks of the awliyâ. They fall into artificiality, pretence, meaningless boastfulness and many difficulties in order to make themselves fit for those high ranks and preserve themselves in that rank.
The Seventeenth Flash-Thirteenth Note
“The Zuljalâl One, the Owner of al-‘arsh al-â’dham, has four ‘arsh by which He directs the creatures on the earth, which is like a ma’nawî centre, an ‘âlam and heart and qibla of the universe:
One is the ‘arsh of Preservation and Life, which is the earth. The place which the Names of Hafîdh and Muhyî are manifested on.
The Second ‘arsh is the ‘arsh of fadl and rahmah, which is the element of water.
The Third is the ‘arsh of ‘ilm and hikmah, which is the element of nûr.
The Fourth is the ‘arsh of Irâdah and Command, which is the element of air.” The Flashes ( 344 )