as a specific distinction for him among creation (1). He descends when a third of the night has passed, from His Throne to the lowest heaven, without a how, nor does He have a resemblance, nor an equal among creation, and He says: "Is there anyone asking? Is there anyone repenting? Is there anyone seeking forgiveness?" Thus until the clear morning (2).
Notes
- (1) He points to the Almighty's statement: {Then He proportioned him and breathed into him of His spirit} [Al-Sajda: 9].
- (2) He points to the hadith of Abū Hurayra, may God be pleased with him, that the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him, said: "Our Lord, Mighty and Majestic, descends every night to the lowest heaven when the last third of the night remains, and He says: 'Who is supplicating to Me so that I may answer him? Who is asking Me so that I may give him? Who is seeking My forgiveness so that I may forgive him?'" [Narrated by al-Bukhārī (1145) and Muslim (1721)]. Al-Fuḍayl b. ʿIyāḍ, may Allah have mercy on him, said: "If the Jahmī says: 'I disbelieve in a Lord who descends and ascends,' then say: 'I believe in a Lord who does whatever He wills.'" [Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā (5/386)]. Nuʿaym b. Ḥammād, may Allah have mercy on him, said: "The hadith of the descent refutes the statement of the Jahmiyya." He said: "He descends in His essence while He is upon His Footstool." [Al-Tamhīd by Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr (7/144)]. I say: The deniers among the Jahmiyya, Ash'arites, and others either explicitly deny the descent of God, Mighty and Majestic, or they use ambiguous terms by which they intend to invalidate the reality of the descent, such as denying relocation, movement, displacement, and other innovated terms. Among that is: 1- The statement of Ibn Ḥibbān in his Ṣaḥīḥ (3/200): "He descends without an instrument, nor movement, nor relocation from one place to another." End quote. 2- Ibn Ḥajar said in Al-Fatḥ (11/129): "Al-Kirmānī said: '...Descent is impossible for God! Because its reality is movement from the direction of highness to lowness, and definitive proofs have indicated His transcendence above that! So it should be interpreted to mean: the descent of the angel of mercy and the like, or it should be consigned while believing in His transcendence... etc.'" 3- Ibn Ḥajar al-Haytamī said in Al-Zawājir (p. 65): "The descent of God is an allusion to the descent of His mercy, or some of His angels; due to His exaltation, Mighty and Majestic, above direction, place, body, and time." End quote. I say: The descent is a truth about which there is no doubt. As for body, relocation, limbs, and organs
