KİTABIN MUKADDİMESİ · Beşinci Madde
**Fifth Article**
Beneath the Supreme Throne is the Seat, the “Preserved Tablet” (al-Lawh al-Mahfuz),
the Pen, the Sidrat al-Muntaha [lotus tree of the furthest boundary], the Tree of Ruyyah (Tuba), the Trumpet of Israfil, and the Barzakh, where souls gather.
O esteemed one! Know that the scholars of Tafsir and Hadith are agreed on this point: The Most High created a great Seat upon four pillars attached to the foot of the Arsh, from the light of the Supreme Throne; it is red coral in color [5/b]. Its pillars extend down into the depths of the earth. Were all the heavens, layers of the earth, and Mount Qaf to be placed within this Seat, they would be no larger than a ring on a desert plain. Likewise, the Seat is like a table in the wilderness beneath the Supreme Throne. But the purpose of these similes is not to determine precise measurements, but rather to bring to light their magnitude, to vividly portray them. For only the Creator of the universes who brought them into being knows their limits and quantities.
Those who believe that the Arsh refers to the throne of dominion and the Seat refers to God’s knowledge have erred. Those who say this contradict verses and traditions. The Most High created a great, green zeberjed-colored tablet from beneath the Supreme Throne and from its light, surrounding it with red coral color.
He created a green emerald-colored Pen whose length is equivalent to a hundred years' distance. White light emerges as ink from within it. When the Most High says to it, “O Pen, write!” the Pen trembles from the majesty of that command. It emits a sound like thunder, glorifying God, and begins moving upon the Preserved Tablet by His command, writing what will occur until the Day of Judgment. The Preserved Tablet is completely filled with writing. As it is said, “The matter has been settled, and the pen has been laid down,” so it remained dry. Righteous servants remain righteous, and rebellious ones remain rebellious. However, every day the Most High looks upon the Preserved Tablet with His mercy three hundred sixty times; in each gaze, He destroys one of the things that had been written beforehand and places a new one in its place, thus accomplishing what He wills. For He has said, “Allah removes whatever He wishes and establishes whatever He wishes. With Him are the origins of all the books” (Ra’d 13:39).
The wisdom behind the Most High writing the deeds of all His servants on the Preserved Tablet is so that the inhabitants of the heavens and earth, all created beings, may know that the form of their decree in eternal knowledge is written there as it is and according to it. Therefore, he who denies the Preserved Tablet and the Pen is a hypocrite.
The Exalted One created a great void like white pearl beneath the Supreme Throne, opposite the Seat, and above the gardens of Paradise. This is where the Sidrat al-Muntaha and the Tree of Ruyyah (Tuba) take root. It is the station of Gabriel and other praised angels close to him.
The Most High created a great tree on the Sidrat al-Muntaha, which is called the Tree of Ruyyah (Tuba). Its trunk is of pure gold; its many branches are of red coral; its leaves are green emeralds. Its various fruits have a taste of sugar. Countless branches extend into the pavilions of Paradise, and blessed ones gather them to find contentment. Between the Sidrat al-Muntaha and the Supreme Throne (so that the angels on the Sidrah do not burn from the intensity of the light of the Supreme Throne), seventy veils are created.
The Most High created, from beneath the Supreme Throne and from its light, a great object resembling a horn and a honeycomb, red coral in color, attached to the foot of the Arsh. Within it are the first and second Barzakhs—the places where souls that will enter bodies and those that have come and gone gather. The layers of the heavens and earth are arranged within it like rounds of bread, encompassing them all without joining. This is what surrounds this void: the Trumpet of Israfil. Its inner surface is adorned with channels like the honeycomb cells. These channels have become dwellings and refuges for the souls that will enter bodies in the realm of the first Barzakh and for the souls that have departed from bodies, awaiting resurrection, in the realm of the second Barzakh. Souls resembling birds have taken their nests and stations according to their degrees, remaining there until the Day of Judgment, each residing in its own place.