Is the Hadith About 500 Years Between the Heavens and the Throne Authentic?
A narration attributed to Abu Dharr Al-Ghifari (RA) and found on Islamic websites describes the cosmic distances between the earth, the seven heavens, and the Throne — each separated by a journey of five hundred years. The narration circulates widely and is often cited in discussions of Islamic cosmology. The question of its authenticity deserves a precise answer grounded in the science of hadith criticism.
The Narration
“The distance between the earth and the heaven is a journey of five hundred years. The thickness of each heaven is five hundred years, and the distance between each heaven and the heaven that follows it is a journey of five hundred years. The earths are like that, and the distance between the seventh heaven and the Throne is like all of that. And if you were to lower your companion down, he would find Allah Almighty.”
Grade: Da’if (Weak) — Disconnected chain · Al-Bayhaqi (2/145)
Grade: Unreliable · Al-Jurqani
The Verdict on Authenticity
The hadith is weak due to a break in its chain of transmission. It is not established as an authentic statement of the Prophet ﷺ.
The critical weakness is the narrator Abu Nasr — the link between Al-A’mash and Abu Dharr (RA) in the chain.
[!scholar] Al-Bazzar — Musnad Al-Bazzar
“We do not know that this hadith was narrated on the authority of Abu Dharr except with this chain of transmission. I think this Abu Nasr is Hamid bin Hilal — and he did not hear from Abu Dharr.”
This is the decisive point: if Abu Nasr is indeed Hamid bin Hilal, then there is a gap between him and Abu Dharr (RA) — meaning the chain is munqati’ (disconnected). A disconnected chain is a category of weak narration because at least one narrator in the chain never met the one above him, making the transmission unverified.
Al-Bayhaqi himself recorded the narration with the note that its chain is disconnected. Al-Jurqani’s verdict — “unreliable” — aligns with this assessment. Al-Bazzar’s observation that no other chain for this narration from Abu Dharr is known further weakens its standing, as a narration with only one isolated route and a broken chain has no supporting legs to stand on.
Summary
The hadith describing the distance between the earth, the seven heavens, and the Throne as five hundred years each is not authentically established from the Prophet ﷺ. Its chain contains a break identified by Al-Bazzar — the key narrator Abu Nasr likely never heard from Abu Dharr (RA). Al-Bayhaqi recorded it with a note of disconnection, and Al-Jurqani graded it unreliable. It should not be cited as a prophetic statement in theological or scientific discussions.