Al-Kursī
al-KUR-see
His seat encompasses the heavens and the earth — and guarding them tires Him not at all.
Al-Kursi — the Divine Footstool or Seat — is mentioned once explicitly in the Quran by name, but that single mention occurs in Ayat al-Kursi (2:255), which the Prophet ﷺ called the greatest verse in the Quran. The Kursi is described as encompassing 'al-samawat wa-l-ard' — the heavens and the earth — a reality so vast that all of created space is contained within it.
The precise nature of the Kursi is a matter of scholarly discussion. Ibn Abbas, the great companion and Quranic interpreter, is reported to have described it as the mawdi' al-qadamayn — the 'place of the two feet' — though scholars debate whether this should be taken literally or symbolically. What the Quran establishes clearly is the scale: the Kursi contains the heavens and the earth, and the Arsh (Throne) is incomprehensibly larger than the Kursi, as a ring thrown into an open desert.
Ayat al-Kursi's genius is not just in what it says about the Kursi — it is the concentrated theological statement that surrounds it. The verse moves from: Allah (the name), hayy and qayyum (Living and Self-Subsisting), nothing slumbers or sleeps for Him, everything in the heavens and earth belongs to Him, no intercession without His permission, He knows what is before and what is after, none encompasses His knowledge except what He wills — His Kursi encompasses the heavens and earth — and guarding them does not tire Him. It is, in one verse, nearly the complete portrait of divine sovereignty.
Root occurrence breakdown
The Kursi appears twice by name in the Quran: in Ayat al-Kursi (2:255) as the divine Kursi, and in 38:34 (kursiyyahu — his seat/throne) referring to the trial of Sulayman. As a theological concept of the divine, its single Quranic mention in 2:255 is among the most commented-upon words in all of Islamic scholarship.
Key ayahs
اللَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ ۚ لَا تَأْخُذُهُ سِنَةٌ وَلَا نَوْمٌ ۚ لَّهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ ۗ مَن ذَا الَّذِي يَشْفَعُ عِندَهُ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِ ۚ يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ ۖ وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِشَيْءٍ مِّنْ عِلْمِهِ إِلَّا بِمَا شَاءَ ۚ وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ ۖ وَلَا يَئُودُهُ حِفْظُهُمَا ۚ وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْعَظِيمُ
“Allah — there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Self-Sustaining. Neither drowsiness overtakes Him nor sleep. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. Who is it that can intercede with Him except by His permission? He knows what is before them and what will be after them, and they encompass not a thing of His knowledge except for what He wills. His Kursi extends over the heavens and the earth, and their preservation tires Him not. And He is the Most High, the Most Great.”
Ayat al-Kursi is described in hadith as the greatest verse in the Quran (Muslim). Its structure is a masterpiece of Arabic rhetoric — each phrase expanding divine sovereignty by removing a limitation. He does not sleep; everything belongs to Him; intercession is only by permission; His knowledge encompasses all while theirs encompasses nothing; His Kursi encompasses all of space; guarding all of it costs Him nothing. The verse ends with two divine names: Al-Aliyy (the Most High) and Al-Azim (the Most Great). Reciting this verse after every obligatory prayer is among the most recommended acts in the Sunnah, with the hadith reporting that nothing separates the one who does so from Paradise except death.