, exposed to the sun, from every distant pass.’”

Umm Salamah, may Allah be pleased with her, reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“Allah descends to the lowest heaven and boasts of the people of ‘Arafah before the angels, saying, ‘Look at My servants: they have come to Me dishevelled and dusty.’”

Thus, He is described as drawing near to the lowest heaven on the afternoon of ‘Arafah and boasting of the pilgrims before the angels, saying, “Look at My servants: they have come to Me dishevelled and dusty. What do these people seek?” It is well known that faith, mercy, light and blessing descend upon the pilgrims’ hearts on the afternoon of ‘Arafah to an extent beyond expression. Yet what is in their hearts is not what draws near to the lowest heaven and boasts of the pilgrims before the angels.

The Jahmiyyah and others like them who deny the divine attributes affirm only something created without a Creator, an effect without a cause, and something done without a doer. This is well known from their fundamental principles, and this is one of the implications of the Jahmiyyah’s doctrines.

He may also be told: His description of Himself as descending is like His descriptions in the Quran: that He

“created the heavens and the earth in six days, then rose over the Throne”;

that He turned to the heaven while it was smoke; that He called to Moses and spoke privately with him in the blessed spot, from the tree; and that He comes, as He says:

“And your Lord comes, with the angels, rank upon rank.”

He also says:

“Are they waiting for anything but for the angels to come to them, or for your Lord to come, or for some of your Lord’s signs to come?”

There are many mass-transmitted hadiths from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, concerning the Lord’s coming on the Day of Resurrection, and likewise His coming to the people of Paradise on Friday. This is among the evidence the early generations cited against those who denied the hadith: they explained that the Quran confirms the meaning of this hadith, just as it was cited by Ishāq