The Angels will be at all the sides and the edges of the sky. On the Day of Judgement, Allah (swt) will order the lower sky to split and the Angels will be at its sides until they are commanded to descent to the earth then they surround it all. Some scholars said that the pronoun (its) relates to the earth; meaning, Allah (swt) will order the Angels of the lower sky to stand in queues at the edges of the earth, then Allah (swt) orders the Angels of the first sky to stand after them and so on. In this regard, Allah (swt) says:
وَجَاءَ رَبُّكَ وَالْمَلَكُ صَفًّا صَفًّا
(And your Lord has come and the angels, rank upon rank,) (Al-Fajr: 22)
(… وَيَحْمِلُ عَرْشَ رَبِّكَ… ) (…And there will bear the Throne of your Lord …): The Throne of Allah (swt) is mentioned in other verses:
وَكَانَ عَرْشُهُ عَلَى الْمَاء
(and His Throne had been upon water) (Hud: 7)
فَسُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَرْشِ
(So exalted is Allah, Lord of the Throne) (Al-Anbiyaa: 22)
لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ رَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْكَرِيمِ
(there is no deity except Him, Lord of the Noble Throne.) (Al-Muminoon: 116)
Not to understand that the Throne of Allah (swt) refers to control, superiority, and power. It is an honourable Throne. The worldly Thrones symbolize the dominance for those who sit on them, whereas Allah’s Throne is a sign that the whole universe is under His control. Nothing can go beyond His will and nothing can disobey Him (swt). Allah (swt) in another verse describes the Throne as Great:
وَهُوَ رَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ
(and He is the Lord of the Great Throne.) (At-Tawba: 129)
When we hear about a great throne, we imagine the thrones of the worldly kings, as the throne of the Queen of Sheba which the hoopoe bird described:
وَلَهَا عَرْشٌ عَظِيمٌ
(and she has a great throne.) (An-Naml: 23)
It is great according to humans’ standards. But when Allah (swt) describes His Throne as being Great; hence, it is great according to Allah’s standards. It is the Throne of Allah (swt) The Great and it is beyond the human imagination. So that, we shall remember this verse:
لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ
(There is nothing like unto Him) (Ash-Shuran: 11)
Abu Dharr al-Ghifari narrated that the Prophet (saws) said to him:
“O’ Abu Dharr, the seven heavens and the seven earths compared to the Chair are no more than a ring thrown into a vast desert. And the favour of the Throne upon the Chair is like the favour of the desert upon this ring”[1]
The word of Throne represents the highness. That is why this Arabic word refers sometimes to the ceiling and to the bed too as in Allah’s saying:
وَرَفَعَ أَبَوَيْهِ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ
(And he raised his parents upon the throne,) (Yusuf: 100)
( ثَمَانِيَةٌ… ) (…eight): Why is eight? This is one of the ambiguous verses. None but Allah (swt) knows the secrets of the numbers in the Holy Quran. We cannot understand what will be the nature of the eight angels upholding the Throne, Only Allah (swt) knows. We cannot imagine or compare these unforeseen matters with our worldly standards because everything relates to Allah (swt) is beyond our imagination, thus the human mind cannot comprehend how the Throne and how the eight Angels bear it.
[1] Sahih ibn Hayyan: The Book of Piety and Kindness, Chapter of honesty, enjoining what is right, and forbidding what is wrong, Hadith No. 361.