to descend without the Throne becoming vacant of Him, then He descends to the lowest heaven however He wills, and the place does not become vacant of Him.”’

‘Abd al-Rahmān said:

The authentic account of what took place between Ishāq and ‘Abd Allāh ibn Tāhir is what my father related to us: Abū ‘Uthmān ‘Amr ibn ‘Abd Allāh al-Basrī narrated to us: Muhammad ibn Hātim narrated to us: I heard Ishāq ibn Ibrāhīm ibn Makhlad say:

‘ ‘Abd Allāh ibn Tāhir said to me, “O Abū Ya‘qūb, what are these hadiths you narrate concerning the descent”—meaning this and other matters?

‘I replied, “O governor, these hadiths have been transmitted in the same manner as those concerning legal rulings and what is lawful and unlawful. The scholars have transmitted them, so they may not be rejected. They are accepted as they have come, without specifying how.”

‘ ‘Abd Allāh said, “You have spoken the truth. Until now, I did not understand their import.”’

‘Abd al-Rahmān said: ‘The statement, “The place does not become vacant of Him,” specifies a manner that undermines the descent and invalidates the statement of those who say, “They are accepted as they have come, without specifying how.”’

The response is: Rather, Ishāq’s exchange with ‘Abd Allāh ibn Tāhir included more than this account relates, as is established by other reports. In accounts of such exchanges and debates, however, one narrator relates what another does not. This is likewise the case with the reports of the debates of Ahmad ibn Hanbal and others: one narrator relates what another does not, as in the accounts transmitted by Sālih, ‘Abd Allāh, al-Marwadhī and others, all of whom are trustworthy. Ishāq discussed the matter at length with Ibn Tāhir.

Shaykh Abū ‘Uthmān al-Naysābūrī, al-Sābūnī, known as Shaykh al-Islām, said in his treatise on the Sunnah:

“The scholars of hadith believe and testify that Allah, glorified and exalted be He,