It is established in the two Sahīh collections that He descends. One version reads:

“He descends every night to the lowest heaven when the last third of the night remains.”

Another hadith states:

“The Lord is nearest to His servant in the depths of the latter part of the night.”

In Sahīh Muslim:

“Indeed, Allah descends to the lowest heaven when a third of the night has passed.”

Also in Sahīh Muslim:

“When half the night, or two-thirds of it, has passed, Allah descends to the lowest heaven.”

Thus, the earlier observation that night occurs at different times in different lands refutes the view of those who suppose that the Throne becomes empty of Him and that He comes to be beneath the Throne or beneath heaven. As for a “descent” unlike the descent of His servants’ bodies, there is nothing to preclude its occurring at the same time for many creatures, or its lasting longer for some people. Indeed, there is nothing to preclude His drawing near to some of His servants rather than others: drawing near to someone who calls upon Him, but not to someone who does not.

Nothing in the nearness with which the Lord, Mighty and Majestic, has described Himself applies generally to all creatures, unlike His being with them. He has described Himself as being with them in both a general and a particular sense. His nearness, however, is particular to those to whom He draws near, such as those who supplicate and worship Him. This includes His nearness on the afternoon of the Day of Arafah and His drawing near to the lowest heaven for the sake of the pilgrims. Although that afternoon at Arafah may be midday in some lands and nighttime in others, He has not drawn near to those lands or to their lowest heaven. Rather, He has drawn near to the lowest heaven above the pilgrims. The same applies to His descent at night.

This is like His reckoning with His servants on the Day of Resurrection: He will call them all to account in a single hour, and each