There are multiple narrations and statements that mentioned the shaking of the throne of Allah. So how is it that the throne of Allah would shake? And why?

There’s a fabricated hadith that I often hear that divorce shakes the throne of Allah. However, there is an authentic narration where Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) says:

The throne of the Most Merciful shook from the death of Sa’d ibn Mu’adh.

(Al Bukhari)

Who is Sa’d ibn Mu’adh?

Sa’d ibn Mu’adh is one of the greatest companions of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). He is one of the chiefs of Ansar (the helpers in Madinah). He’s someone that stood by Prophet Muhammad. And he’s someone that when people had hesitation, he was the one that would get them back to their state of confidence that would remind them of their service of the Lord of the throne, of the Most Merciful; he would remind them of the pledge that they took to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

He has an incredible life. It’s just amazing to think that this man only lived as a Muslim for five years and the Prophet Muhammad said that the throne of the Most Merciful shook because of his death. He died in his 30s, he only lived as a Muslim for a few years.

 But, this man was a great and an unbelievable man. The companions said that when they were carrying the body of Sa’d in his funeral, it was extremely light.

 And some of the hypocrites made fun of sa’d and they took his death as a sign of disgrace. But the Prophet Muhammad (peace be  upon him) said that the angels were carrying the body of Sa’d.

The Throne Shook for the Joy of Allah

 So, what is it that ‘the throne of the Most Merciful shook’ actually means?

 The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) explains to us that the throne of Allah did not shake because the throne could not handle the death of Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him), or because of fear or anything of that sort, but the throne shook from the joy of the Lord of the returning of the soul of Sa’d.

Can you imagine?

Imam Al-Hassan al-Basri comments on that and he says:

It didn’t shake out of fear or trauma, but rather out of joy for Sa’d returning to his Lord the same way that the mount of Uhud shook when the Prophet Muhammad was with Abu Bakr, Umar, Ali, and Uthman on it and Prophet Muhammad told the mount of Uhud:

 Be firm Uhud because you have upon you a Prophet, a man of truth, and two martyrs.

(Al-Bukhari)

 And Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:

 Uhud is a mountain that loves us and we love it.

(Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

 So, it shook recognizing the greatness of the one that was upon it. Or the tree that cried when the Prophet (peace be upon him) left it. Because Prophet Muhammad used to give khutbah leaning on this tree. That tree shook and it cried when the Prophet left it, recognizing the greatness of the one that departed.

The Death of Sa’d

 So, the scholars say that Sa’d eventually died from a wound that he suffered in the battle of Al-Khandaq and so he was considered a martyr.

 And the Prophet (peace be upon him) tells us that:

The souls of the martyrs live in the bodies of green birds and their nests are in chandeliers hanging from the throne of Allah.

(At-Tirmidhi)

 Can you imagine that?

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:

 They leave when they please and they eat from the fruits of paradise and they go where they like and then they come back and they stay in the chandeliers under the throne of the Most Merciful.

 And so the joy of Sa’d coming to occupy one of those chandeliers caused the throne of the Most Merciful to shake.