address the one he seeks, call upon him, or the like, he addresses him from the nearest direction from which that person can hear his call and through which he can attain his goal, provided his intention is complete.

If a man were in an elevated place and another wished to call to him, the latter would turn towards him and call. If he lowered his head into a well and called in such a way that the other could hear his voice, this would be possible. Yet it is not in keeping with the innate disposition for someone intent on making himself heard to do this without some overriding benefit. Such a thing is done only when the intention is weak or under similar circumstances.

The hadith concerning lowering by a rope, reported from Abū Hurayrah and Abū Dharr, may Allah be pleased with them both, was narrated by al-Tirmidhī and others through al-Hasan al-Basrī from Abū Hurayrah. Its chain is disconnected, since al-Hasan did not hear from Abū Hurayrah. However, it is strengthened by the report of Abū Dharr traced back to the Prophet. If it is established as authentic, its meaning accords with this explanation, for his words:

“If one of you were lowered by a rope, he would descend upon Allah”

merely posit a hypothetical situation: that is, if such lowering were to take place, he would come down upon Him. Yet no one can lower anything onto Allah, for He is exalted in His Essence. When something is lowered towards the earth, it stops at the centre and does not ascend towards the other side. Nevertheless, if the hypothetical lowering were assumed to take place, the stated consequence would follow.

The same applies to what the questioner mentioned: if it were supposed that the servant sought Him from that direction, He—glorified be He—would hear his words, and the servant would be turning towards Him with his heart. Yet this is something the innate disposition precludes, because a complete intention to seek something is incompatible with intending its opposite. Just as the direction that is intrinsically above is incompatible with the direction below, so seeking the One who is exalted in His Essence is incompatible with seeking Him from below. Likewise, something descending into the interior of the earth cannot ascend towards that other side, because that side is high and, by its height, repels what descends, just as the direction above us repels whatever rises towards it