to believe in—His acts each night, His descending Himself from the Throne to the lowest heaven. The heretics deny this, claiming that no place is devoid of Allah.”

A hadith traced back to the Prophet was also narrated through Nu‘aym ibn Hammād, from Jarīr, from Layth, from Bishr, from Anas, that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

“When Allah wills to descend from His Throne, He descends Himself.”

I say: Abū al-Qāsim Ismā‘īl al-Taymī and other leading hadith scholars judged this wording weak as a report traced back to the Prophet. Ibn al-Jawzī also included it in al-Mawdū‘āt (Fabricated Reports). Abū al-Qāsim al-Taymī said: “The meaning of ‘He descends’ is correct, and I affirm it; however, it has not been established as a statement of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him.” (*)

The meaning may be correct even though the wording itself has not been transmitted. For example, one might say: Allah Himself, in His own essence, created the heavens and the earth; He Himself, in His own essence, spoke directly to Moses; and He Himself, in His own essence, rose over the Throne. The same applies to His other acts, which He Himself performed and of which He Himself was the doer. The meaning is correct, but not every expression used to explain the meaning of the Quran and hadith is itself part of the Quran or a statement traced back to the Prophet.

This summarizes what ‘Abd al-Rahmān ibn Mandah mentioned, although he exhaustively presented the chains of transmission of this hadith and cited its various wordings, such as:

“Our Lord descends every night to the lowest heaven when the first third of the night has passed, saying: ‘I am the King. Who will ask Me, so that I may give to him? Who will call upon Me, so that I may answer him? Who will seek My forgiveness, so that I may forgive him?’ And He continues