52‒53. This is how he worded it, yet the report warrants further scrutiny, which I have detailed in Takhrīj al-Sunnah, 567. In Ibn Mandah’s Kitāb al-Tawḥīd there is a dedicated chapter on this ḥadith in which he gathers its various chains ⦗137/1–138/1⦘.
- Ḥadith of Abū Hurayrah, from the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—who said:
“When the Day of Resurrection comes, the Lord will descend to His servants.”
It is attributed to Muslim.
The narrations affirming the descent of the Almighty are mutawātir; I have already presented their routes and commented on them⦗1⦘ in a manner for which I hope to answer on the Day of Resurrection. There is no strength except through Allah, the Most High, the Most Great.
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I say: To ascribe this exact wording to Muslim is mistaken, for he did not record it in that form at all. Through the chain cited by the author in the main text he transmitted a different wording ⦗6/47⦘. As for this precise phrasing, it is found only in al-Tirmidhī ⦗2/61⦘, Ibn Khuzaymah ⦗250/2⦘, and al-Hākim ⦗1/418⦘ by way of another route from Abū Hurayrah, and they all deemed it authentic.
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Ḥadith of Ibn Masʿūd: the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—said:
“Allah will gather the first and the last at a fixed time on a known Day—forty years—while their eyes stare upwards toward the sky, awaiting the final decision. Allah will then descend, in layers of cloud, from the Throne to the Footstool. A herald will call out: ‘O people! Are you not satisfied with your Lord, who created you, provided for you, and commanded you to worship Him alone without associating anything with Him, that He now hand every people over to whatever they used to rely on and worship in the world? Is that not justice from your Lord?’ They will answer, ‘Indeed.’ They then set off, and the likenesses of what they used to worship will be shown to them: some will head toward the sun, others toward the moon, and others toward idols. A devil resembling Jesus will appear to those who worshipped Jesus, and a devil resembling ʿUzayr to those who worshipped ʿUzayr. Muhammad and his community remain. The Lord—glorified is He—will then manifest Himself to them and say, ‘Why have you not gone as the people have gone?’ They will reply, ‘There is a sign between us and Him; when we see it we shall recognize Him.’ He will ask, ‘What is it?’ They will say, ‘He will uncover a shin.’ Thereupon He uncovers His shin, and they fall down in prostration, while a group whose backs are like the tips of cattle horns remain—they wish to prostrate but are unable. He will then say, ‘Raise your heads,’ and He will grant them their light in proportion to their deeds, while the Lord—glorified is He—goes before them.”
He cited the remainder of the ḥadith, and its isnād is ḥasan.