The Quran

Preface

إِنَّ رَبَّكُمُ اللَّهُ الَّذي خَلَقَ السَّماواتِ وَالأَرضَ في سِتَّةِ أَيّامٍ ثُمَّ استَوىٰ عَلَى العَرشِ ۖ يُدَبِّرُ الأَمرَ ۖ ما مِن شَفيعٍ إِلّا مِن بَعدِ إِذنِهِ ۚ ذٰلِكُمُ اللَّهُ رَبُّكُم فَاعبُدوهُ ۚ أَفَلا تَذَكَّرونَ

Yusuf Ali

Verily your Lord is God, who created the heavens and the earth in six Days,¹ then He established Himself² on the Throne(of authority), Regulating and governing all things. No intercessor (can plead with Him) except after His leave (hath been obtained). This is God your Lord; Him therefore serve ye: will ye not then be of warned?³

See note 1031 to 7:54.
Istawa, with the preposition il a after it, means He turned to or He directed Himself by His will; hence, in 2:29,1 have translated, “His design comprehended the heavens,” to emphasise the fact that the heavens were not eternal or co-eternal with Him, but were a part of His design, and in a sense, as they appear to man subjectively, a complement to the creation of man’s Earth. With the preposition 'ala after it, as here and in 7:54, 23:28, and 25:59, the meaning seems to be “to mount or ascend,” and to be firmly established, to sit firm and unshaken, beyond question” (Cf. 20:5). The Throne of authority represents many ideas: e.g., (1) that God is high above all His Creation; (2) that He regulates and governs it, as a king does, whose authority is unquestionably recognised; (3) that He is not, therefore, like the gods of Greece and paganism, who were imagined to be in a world apart, careless of mankind, or jealous of mankind, but on the contrary, He (4) disposes of their affairs and all affairs continuously and with justice; (5) that the authority of His prophets, ministers, and messengers is derived from Him, and such intercession as they can make is by His will and permission. (R).
Cf. 6:80.