The Meaning of Descent and the Statement of Those Who Say He Descends with His Essence
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The questioner:
May Allah reward you, O Shaykh. What is the ruling on what some scholars have said, namely that it is sufficient to say, "He descended"?
The Shaykh:
As for the comparison made that wonder does not occur except for something unknown, that applies to the created being. It is the created being who wonders at something he did not know before. As for Allah, Mighty and Majestic, He knows things before they come into existence, and yet He wonders. He wonders when they occur and happen. Yes.
The questioner:
And when you recite the tashahhud, you say, "Allah." What is the ruling on what some scholars have said, which denies that one should say only "He descended" without mentioning that He descended into the lowest heaven, because he did not return to the questioner?
The Shaykh:
We did not say "He descended with His essence." We say He descends as He wills, Blessed and Exalted is He. Who said "He descends with His essence"? I do not know of anyone who said that. But they say He descends as He wills, Blessed and Exalted is He, as He wills.
May Allah reward you, O Shaykh. What is the ruling on what some scholars have said, namely that it is sufficient to say, "He descended"?
The Shaykh:
As for the comparison made that wonder does not occur except for something unknown, that applies to the created being. It is the created being who wonders at something he did not know before. As for Allah, Mighty and Majestic, He knows things before they come into existence, and yet He wonders. He wonders when they occur and happen. Yes.
The questioner:
And when you recite the tashahhud, you say, "Allah." What is the ruling on what some scholars have said, which denies that one should say only "He descended" without mentioning that He descended into the lowest heaven, because he did not return to the questioner?
The Shaykh:
We did not say "He descended with His essence." We say He descends as He wills, Blessed and Exalted is He. Who said "He descends with His essence"? I do not know of anyone who said that. But they say He descends as He wills, Blessed and Exalted is He, as He wills.
Source
شرح لمعة الاعتقاد [ صالح الفوزان ]، بداية من قوله : فمما جاء من آيات الصفات — islamhouse.com (1:06:35)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.