the circumference to the other, passing through the centre. On the supposition that His grasp encompasses the heavens and the earth, the rope with which He is supposed to have pierced through the world would reach Him. None of this, in relation to Him, is called lowering or descent.

In relation to us, however, what is beneath our feet is below us, and what is above our heads is above us. Whatever we lower from the direction of our heads towards our feet, we imagine to be descending. Thus, if one of us were supposed to lower a rope, it would descend upon whatever was there. Yet this supposition is impossible for us. Its purpose is to explain the encompassment of the Creator, glorified and exalted is He, just as He has explained that He grasps the heavens and folds up the earth, and other such matters that demonstrate His encompassment of created things.

For this reason, he recited at the conclusion of this hadith:

“He is the First and the Last, the Manifest and the Hidden, and He has knowledge of all things.”

[Al-Hadīd: 3]

All of this assumes that the hadith is authentic. When al-Tirmidhī narrated it, he said:

“Some scholars of hadith explained it as meaning that it descended upon Allah’s knowledge.”

Some advocates of divine indwelling and union imagine that this hadith contains evidence for their false claim: that He Himself dwells in every place, that His existence is the very existence of those places, and similar assertions.

The correct understanding is that the hadith, if authentic, indicates none of this. For his words,

“If someone were to lower a rope, it would descend,”

indicate that He is not within the person lowering it, nor within the rope, the bucket, or anything else of that kind. Rather, these words imply that He is in that direction. Likewise, interpreting this as referring to His knowledge is a plainly unsound interpretation, akin to the interpretations of the Jahmiyyah. Rather, assuming that it is authentic, it would indicate encompassment.

It is known that Allah is capable of this encompassment, and it is known from the Book and the Sunnah that it will occur on the Day of Resurrection. Affirming it in general terms conflicts with neither reason nor revelation. Nevertheless, we speak only of what we know, and refrain from speaking of what we do not know. And where a premise of