disbelief, no one stands in prayer at night, so this descent does not occur for them, just as His drawing near on the afternoon of Arafah does not occur for non-pilgrims in other lands. For there is no prescribed standing there, nor any boasting before the angels. Likewise, the opening of the gates of Paradise, the closing of the gates of Hell, and the chaining of the devils when Ramadan begins are only for the Muslims who fast during it, not for the disbelievers who acknowledge no sanctity for it.

Likewise, was His looking upon them on the day of Badr and His saying to them,

“Do whatever you wish,”

specific to those people, or is it general? This calls for a discussion that does not belong here.

Discussion of this “nearness” is of the same kind as discussion of His descent every night, His drawing near on the afternoon of Arafah, His speaking to Moses from the tree, and His saying:

“Blessed is whoever is in the fire and whoever is around it.”

This has been discussed at length elsewhere. We have mentioned what the early generations, including Hammād ibn Zayd, Ishāq and others, said about it: that He descends to the lowest heaven without the Throne becoming empty of Him. We have explained that this is the correct view, although a group among those who claim adherence to the Sunnah think that the Throne becomes empty of Him.

Abū al-Qāsim Abd al-Rahmān ibn Mandah composed a work on this subject in which he rejected the view that He descends without the Throne becoming empty of Him. He also judged weak what was transmitted from Ahmad on this matter in the Epistle of Musaddad, saying that it was falsely attributed to Ahmad. He criticized its transmitter, al-Barda'ī, Ahmad ibn Muhammad, saying that he was unknown and was not known among Ahmad’s companions.

Another group withholds judgment, saying neither that it becomes empty of Him nor that it does not, and objects to those who make such statements,