Shaykh al-Islām Ahmad ibn Taymiyyah—may Allah sanctify his soul—was asked:
What does our master and shaykh—Shaykh al-Islām and an example for all people, may Allah support him and be pleased with him—say concerning two men who disputed the hadith of the descent, one affirming it and the other denying it?
The one who affirmed it said, “Our Lord descends every night to the lowest heaven when the last third of the night remains.”
The one who denied it asked, “How does He descend?”
The one who affirmed it replied, “He descends, without specifying how.”
The one who denied it asked, “Does the Throne become vacant of Him or not?”
The one who affirmed it replied, “This is an innovated statement and an invented opinion.”
The one who denied it said, “That does not answer my question; rather, it evades the answer.”
The one who affirmed it told him, “That is your answer.”
The one who denied it said, “It is only His command and His mercy that descend.”
The one who affirmed it replied, “His command and His mercy descend at every hour, whereas the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, specified the last third of the night as the time of the descent.”
The one who denied it said, “The night is not of equal length in all lands. For in some lands the night may last