and Ishāq ibn Ibrāhīm, may Allah have mercy on him, was also present. He was asked whether the hadith concerning the descent was authentic.
He answered, “Yes.” One of ‘Abd Allāh’s commanders then asked him, “O Abū Ya‘qūb, do you maintain that Allah descends every night?”
“Yes,” he replied.
The man asked, “How does He descend?”
Ishāq said, “Affirm Him as being above.” The man replied, “Affirm Him as being above.”
Ishāq then said, “Allah, mighty and majestic is He, says:
‘And your Lord comes, and the angels, rank upon rank.’”
The emir ‘Abd Allāh said, “That is on the Day of Resurrection.”
Ishāq replied, “May Allah honour the emir! Who could prevent the One who comes on the Day of Resurrection from coming today?”’”
Abū ‘Uthmān said: “I read in Abū Bakr al-Ismā‘īlī’s epistle to the people of Jīlān:
‘Allah descends to the lowest heaven, as authentically reported from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. Allah, mighty and majestic is He, has said:
“Are they waiting for anything but for Allah to come to them in canopies of clouds?”
And He has said:
“And your Lord comes, and the angels, rank upon rank.”
We believe in all of this as it has been transmitted, without specifying how. Had He, glorified be He, willed to explain how this occurs, He would have done so. We therefore confine ourselves to what He has made clear and refrain from delving into what is ambiguous, as we have been commanded in His words:
“It is He who has sent down to you the Book. In it are verses that are clear and precise—they are the foundation of the Book—and others that are ambiguous. Those whose hearts are inclined to deviation follow what is ambiguous in it, seeking discord and seeking its interpretation. Yet none knows its interpretation except Allah. Those firmly grounded in knowledge say, ‘We believe in it; all of it is from our Lord.’ But none take heed except people of understanding.”’”
‘Abd al-Rahmān ibn Mandah narrated through his chain of transmission from Harb ibn Ismā‘īl, who said:
“I asked Ishāq ibn Ibrāhīm about the Prophet’s hadith, peace and blessings be upon him, ‘Allah descends to the lowest heaven.’
He replied, ‘Yes, Allah descends every night to the lowest heaven as He wills and in whatever manner He wills.’”
He also reported