the lowest heaven without passing beyond it? Why does His mercy remain upon His servants from a third of the night until dawn breaks, then return whence it came, as you claim? And why, when Allah is on earth according to your claim, does He, when His servants seek His mercy, ask His forgiveness, and beseech Him, remove His mercy far from them to the lowest heaven—a journey of five hundred years away—rather than envelop them in it, even though He is with them on earth, as you claim?

For you have claimed that His descent means bringing His mercy near to them, as in His other saying: “Whoever draws near to Me by a handspan, I draw near to him by a cubit; and whoever draws near to Me by a cubit, I draw near to him by an armspan.” You said, “This is drawing near through mercy.” Thus, according to your claimed interpretation of the descent, whoever draws near to Him by a handspan