whereupon they declare His transcendence, (1) and those beneath them [beneath them] (2) declare it along with them, followed in turn by those below that. The glorification keeps cascading downward until it reaches the lowest heaven, (3) and then some of them ask the others, “Why did you glorify?” They reply, “Those above us glorified, so we joined them in their glorification.” The others then say, “Will you not ask those above you what it was for which they glorified? (4)” They do so, and are told, “Allah has decreed such-and-such regarding His creation—the matter that was to be.” The news descends from one heaven to the next until it arrives at the lowest heaven, where it is related; the devils snatch it by eavesdropping, amid conjecture and confusion, (5) and they carry it to the soothsayers. (6)
(1) In ms. S and in Khalaq Afaal al-Ibad: fayusabbihu ("they glorify").
(2) The text between the braces is an addition in ms. S, ms. T, and in Khalaq Afaal al-Ibad.
(3) In Khalaq Afaal al-Ibad: thumma ("then").
(4) The original reads lam tusabbihu ("you did not glorify"), which is a scribal error. In ms. S it reads bima sabbahu, and this reading is confirmed by ms. T and by Khalaq Afaal al-Ibad.
(5) In Khalaq Afaal al-Ibad: fayastaqrquhu ("he steals it").
(6) Al-kahan is the plural of kahin ("soothsayer"); a kahin conveys news of future events, claims knowledge of secrets and insight into the unseen, and his craft is called kahanah (divination). See: Lisan al-Arab by Ibn Manzur, vol. 13:362–363 (s.v. k-h-n); al-Tarifat by al-Jurjani, p. 183; Taj al-Arus by al-Zubaydi, vol. 9:326–327 (s.v. k-h-n). Kahanah is divided into three types, as Qadi Iyad reported—cited by al-Nawawi in his Sharh Sahih Muslim 7/14:223: first, one who has a jinn guardian informing him of what it overhears in the heavens; second, one who reports what occurs across the earth, near or distant, that is hidden; third, the astrologers, in whom God grants some power although falsehood predominates. Among this art is al-irafah (divination), practiced by the arraf, who infers matters from causes and premises he claims to know, sometimes aided by incantations, drumming, and the stars. See also: Fath al-Bari by Ibn Hajar, vol. 21:344–346; Sharh al-Sunnah by al-Baghawi.