Ḥamalat al-ʿArsh

Ḥamalat al-ʿArsh, meaning “the Bearers of the Throne,” refers to the mighty angels entrusted by Allah with bearing and surrounding the Divine Throne (ʿArsh). They are among the greatest and most exalted angels mentioned in the Qurʾān and Islamic tradition. The Qurʾān states: “Those who bear the Throne and those around it glorify the praise of their Lord, believe in Him, and seek forgiveness for the believers” (Qurʾān 40:7). Another verse mentions that on the Day of Resurrection eight angels will bear the Throne of Allah: “And the angels will be on its sides, and eight will, that Day, bear the Throne of your Lord above them” (Qurʾān 69:17). These verses indicate the elevated status of the Bearers of the Throne and their continuous devotion to Allah through glorification, worship, and supplication for the believers.

Islamic traditions describe Ḥamalat al-ʿArsh as immense and majestic beings created with extraordinary strength. Several ḥadīth reports portray their greatness and the vast distance between their physical features, emphasizing the magnificence of Allah’s creation and the grandeur of the Divine Throne. In addition to bearing the Throne, these angels pray for the forgiveness and salvation of the faithful, saying: “Our Lord, You encompass all things in mercy and knowledge, so forgive those who repent and follow Your path” (Qurʾān 40:7). Their supplication demonstrates the close relationship between the heavenly realm and the righteous believers on earth. Islamic scholars emphasize that the Throne and its bearers belong to the unseen world (ghayb), whose true reality is known only to Allah.

Classical theologians and exegetes discussed Ḥamalat al-ʿArsh within broader works on angelology and Islamic cosmology. Scholars such as al-Ṭabarī, Ibn Kathīr, al-Qurṭubī, and al-Bayhaqī interpreted the relevant Qurʾānic verses and traditions while affirming the reality of these angels without likening them to created beings known to humans. Belief in the Bearers of the Throne forms part of Islamic faith in angels and reflects the majesty, order, and divine sovereignty governing the universe. The descriptions of Ḥamalat al-ʿArsh also serve to inspire awe of Allah’s greatness and encourage believers to seek the prayers and mercy associated with the heavenly hosts.

## References

1 Qurʾān 40:7–9; 69:17. 2 Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Kitāb al-Īmān, Ḥadīth no. 299. 3 Sunan Abī Dāwūd, Kitāb al-Sunnah, Ḥadīth no. 4727. 4 Aḥmad ibn al-Ḥusayn al-Bayhaqī, al-Asmāʾ wa al-Ṣifāt (Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyyah, 1993), 2: 199–205. 5 Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī, al-Ḥabāʾik fī Akhbār al-Malāʾik (Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyyah, 1985), 45–52. 6 Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī, Mafātīḥ al-Ghayb (Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1999). 7 Jane Dammen McAuliffe, ed., Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān (Leiden: Brill, 2001–2006), s.v. “Angels” and “Throne.” 8 W. Montgomery Watt, “ʿArsh,” in Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd ed. (Leiden: Brill, 1960–2005). 9 Muḥammad ʿUmar Sulaymān al-Ashqar, ʿĀlam al-Malāʾikah al-Abrār (Amman: Dār al-Nafāʾis, 1991), 71–78.