Affirming the Descent of Allah the Exalted to the Lowest Heaven
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Regarding the descent to the lowest heaven, for example, do you affirm it?
The Shaykh : Do not ask how He descends. Is the second heaven above Him? Does the lowest heaven carry Him? How is this possible when the last third of the night passes over the surface of the earth at every moment? Do not ask in this manner. Affirm what He has affirmed for Himself without likening Him to creation. As for the texts, take them at their apparent meaning. So when you hear the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) say, "Our Lord descends to the lowest heaven," what do you have to say about the Hereafter? Ha. Yes, and ha? All right, stand up. The one who wants to be heedless does not come to mind; he occupies me and occupies himself, and Satan also comes, because Allah says:[Al-Kahf 18:63] Do you not know that heedlessness means that Satan has taken possession of your heart? Stand up. Every last one.
The questioner : The hadith is taken at its apparent meaning, without asking how it is, without likening it to creation, and without reconciling it.
The Shaykh : That is, we affirm that Allah descends as the Messenger said. All right.
The questioner : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The Shaykh : But we do not say that He descends like our descent, for example.
The questioner : And we do not deny the attribute.
The Shaykh : And we do not argue with a saying that says "His command descends" or "His mercy descends" or "an angel from His angels descends." All of this has been said, but it is a distortion of the text's meaning.
The questioner : And no likening Him to creation.
The Shaykh : But in it, we said: We do not say that He descends like the human being, Adam. All right, may Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : Do not ask how He descends. Is the second heaven above Him? Does the lowest heaven carry Him? How is this possible when the last third of the night passes over the surface of the earth at every moment? Do not ask in this manner. Affirm what He has affirmed for Himself without likening Him to creation. As for the texts, take them at their apparent meaning. So when you hear the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) say, "Our Lord descends to the lowest heaven," what do you have to say about the Hereafter? Ha. Yes, and ha? All right, stand up. The one who wants to be heedless does not come to mind; he occupies me and occupies himself, and Satan also comes, because Allah says:
And none made me forget it except Satan - that I should mention it
وَمَا أَنسَانِيهُ إِلَّا الشَّيْطَانُ أَنْ أَذْكُرَهُThe questioner : The hadith is taken at its apparent meaning, without asking how it is, without likening it to creation, and without reconciling it.
The Shaykh : That is, we affirm that Allah descends as the Messenger said. All right.
The questioner : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The Shaykh : But we do not say that He descends like our descent, for example.
The questioner : And we do not deny the attribute.
The Shaykh : And we do not argue with a saying that says "His command descends" or "His mercy descends" or "an angel from His angels descends." All of this has been said, but it is a distortion of the text's meaning.
The questioner : And no likening Him to creation.
The Shaykh : But in it, we said: We do not say that He descends like the human being, Adam. All right, may Allah bless you.
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، 159 - إثبات نزول الله تعالى إلى السماء الدنيا - شرح تقريب التدمرية - ابن عثيمين — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.