Mukhtasar al-Uluww lil-Ali al-Azim - A-Dhahabi - (115)

Mukhtasar al-Uluww lil-Ali al-AzimA-Dhahabi

I say: This is exactly as he stated; it was narrated by Abū Dāwūd and others, and I have cited it in al-Ṣaḥīḥah (151).
Ḥadith of Abū Hurayrah, traced back to the Prophet ﷺ:
‘Allah’s Right Hand is full; the spending of night and day does not diminish it. Have you considered all that He has dispensed since He created the heavens and the earth? Yet that has not decreased what is in His Right Hand. His Throne is upon the water, and in His other Hand are the grasp and the Balance—He abases and He elevates.’ It is agreed upon as authentic.
Abū Hurayrah relates, attributing it to the Prophet ﷺ:
‘When Allah decrees a matter in heaven, the angels beat their wings in humble submission to His word; it sounds like a chain dragged across smooth stone.’ Recorded by al-Bukhārī.
I say: al-Tirmidhī declared it authentic, and it is corroborated by a narration of Ibn Masʿūd. I have documented both of them in al-Ṣaḥīḥah (1293).
From Abū Hurayrah, from the Prophet ﷺ, who said:
‘Our Lord descends every night when the first third of the night has passed⦗1⦘ and proclaims, “I am the King. Who will call upon Me so that I may answer him? Who will ask of Me so that I may grant him? Who will seek My forgiveness so that I may forgive him?” And He remains thus⦗2⦘…’ Narrated by Aḥmad, and its chain is strong.

(1) Another version reads: “when the last third of the night remains.” Al-Tirmidhi considered this the soundest wording. Al-Irwaʾ, no. 450. (2) I note that those who deny the divine attributes often interpret this hadith by saying that the “descent” is merely the descent of Allah’s command or His mercy. Ibn Taymiyya has shown the invalidity of this claim from several angles in his Sharh Hadith al-Nuzul; one proof is the very context of the report, for the statement “I am the King …” plainly indicates that it is Allah Himself who descends. Ibn Taymiyya says (p. 36): “One of the leading scholars who deny that Allah is above (al-uluww) was asked about the descent, and he replied, ‘His command descends.’ The questioner retorted, ‘From where does it descend? If, according to you, nothing exists above the universe, from where does the command come—out of sheer non-existence?’ and the scholar was left speechless.” One of the strangest interpretations I have seen is that of Shaykh Abu Zahra in al-Madhahib al-Islamiyya (p. 325), where he writes: “It is permissible to explain the descent to the lowest heaven as the Divine nearness …”

٦٠- قلت: وهو كما قال، أخرجه أبو داود وغيره، وهو مخرج في "الصحيحة" "١٥١". ٧٦- حديث أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ قَالَ: "يَمِينُ اللَّهِ مَلأى لا يَغِيضُهَا نَفَقَةُ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ، أَرَأَيْتُمْ مَا أَنْفَقَ مُنْذُ خَلَقَ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالأَرْضَ؟ فَإِنَّهُ لَمْ يَنْقُصْ مَا فِي يَمِينِهِ، وَعَرْشُهُ عَلَى الماء، وبيده الأخرى القبض والميزان يَخْفِضُ وَيَرْفَعُ" مُتَّفَقٌ عَلَى ثُبُوتِهِ. ٧٧- حديث أبي هريرة يبلغ به النبي ﷺ قال: "إذا قضى الله الأمر في السماء ضربت الملائكة بأجنحتها خضعاناً لقوله، كأنه سلسلة على صفوان" أخرجه البخاري. ٦١- قلت: وصححه الترمذي، وله شاهد من حديث ابن مسعود، وقد خرجتهما في "الصحيحة" "١٢٩٣". ٧٨- عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ قال: "يَنْزِلُ رَبُّنَا ﷿ كُلَّ لَيْلَةٍ إِذَا مَضَى ثُلُثُ اللَّيْلِ الأَوَّلُ١ فَيَقُولُ: أَنَا الْمَلِكُ مَنْ ذَا الَّذِي يَسْأَلُنِي فَأُعْطِيَهُ؟ مَنْ ذَا الَّذِي يَدْعُونِي فَأَسْتَجِيبَ لَهُ؟ مَنْ ذَا الَّذِي يَسْتَغْفِرُنِي فَأَغْفِرَ له؟ فلا يزال كذلك" ٢ رواه أحمد وإسناده قوي.

١ وفي رواية: حَيْنَ يَبْقَى ثُلُثُ اللَّيْلِ الآخِرُ. وهو الأصح كما قال الترمذي. "الإرواء" "٤٥٠". ٢ قلت: اشتهر تأويل هذا الحديث عند نفاة الصفات، بأن المراد بالنزول نزول أمر الله تعالى ورحمته، ومع أن هذ التأويل باطل من وجوه كما بينه شيخ الإسلام ابن تيمية في كتابه: "شحر حديث النزول". من ذلك سياق الحديث، فإن قوله: "أنا الملك ... إلخ ... صريح في أن الله تعالى هو الذي ينزل. قال شيخ الإسلام "ص٣٦": "وقد سئل بعض أئمة نفاة العلو عن النزول فقال: ينزل أمره، فقال له السائل: فممن ينزل؟ إن عندك فوق العالم شيء فممن ينزل الأمر؟ من العدم المحض؟ فبهت". ومن أغرب التأويلات التي رأيتها لبعض النفاة قول الشيخ "أبو زهرة" في "المذاهب الإسلامية" "ص٣٢٥"" "ويصح أن يفسر النزول إلى السماء الدنيا بمعنى قرب =