the Descent is among the most famous hadiths in Mālik’s Muwaṭṭaʾ. He narrated it from (1) the greatest of his teachers, Ibn Shihāb, (2) who in turn received it from one of his own foremost teachers, Abū Salamah (3) ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, together with Abū ʿAbdullāh al-Agharr, (4) both reporting from Abū Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said:
“Our Lord, Blessed and Exalted, descends every night to the lowest heaven when the last third of the night remains and says: ‘Who will supplicate Me so that I may answer him? Who will ask of Me so that I may give him? Who will seek My forgiveness so that I may forgive him?’” (5)
The compilers of the authentic collections, such as al-Bukhārī and Muslim, also related this hadith through the chain of Mālik and others. The reports concerning the Descent are mass-transmitted (mutawātir) from the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace; more than twenty Companions narrated them in one another’s presence, and those (6) who heard the narration affirmed its truth and accepted it—none of them rejected it. The leading (7) scholars among the Successors likewise transmitted it, and the great
(1) In the original it reads “min.” The reading found in manuscripts S and T; it may be the most suitable for the context.
(2) He is Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Muslim ibn Ubaid Allah ibn Abd Allah ibn Shihab al-Zuhri, introduced above. Malik transmitted 132 hadiths from him in the Muwatta. See Tajrid al-Tamhid (Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr), p. 116.
(3) In S: Musallama. He is Abu Salama ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘Awf al-Zuhri—his personal name and kunya. One of the foremost imams of the Tabi‘in and a leading, trustworthy jurist of Medina, prolific in knowledge. He died in 94 AH. See Tahdhib al-Huffaz (al-Dhahabi), vol. 1, p. 63; Tahdhib al-Tahdhib (Ibn Hajar), vol. 12, pp. 115–118; al-Tamhid (Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr), vol. 7, pp. 57–58.
(4) He is Abu ‘Abd Allah ‘Ubayd Allah ibn Sulayman al-Aghar, regarded as reliable by Abu Dawud, al-Nasa’i, and Ibn Ma‘in. See Tahdhib al-Tahdhib (Ibn Hajar), vol. 7, p. 18; Khulasat Tahdhib al-Kamal (Safi al-Din al-Ansari), p. 250.
(5) His isnad was given above; see also Muwatta Malik, pp. 149–150, Kitab al-Qur’an, chapter on du‘ā’, hadith no. 30.
(6) The words in brackets are additions found in manuscripts S and T.
(7) The words in brackets are additions found in manuscripts S and T.