The twelfth example: His saying (peace and blessings be upon him), in what he narrates from Allah the Exalted, that He said:

The Shaykh :"The twelfth example: His saying (peace and blessings be upon him), in what he narrates from Allah the Exalted, that He said:

he who draws close to Me by the span of a palm I draw close to him by the cubit, and he who draws close to Me by the cubit I draw close to him by the space (covered) by two hands, and he who walks towards Me I rush towards him

من تقرب مني شبرا تقربت منه ذراعا ومن تقرب مني ذراعا تقربت منه باعا ومن أتاني يمشي أتيته هرولة

Sahih Muslim 2687a

This hadith is authentic. Muslim narrated it in the Book of Dhikr and Du'a from the hadith of Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him), and he also narrated a similar one from the hadith of Abu Hurayrah. Al-Bukhari also narrated a similar one from the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) in the Book of Tawhid, Chapter Fifteen.
This hadith, like other texts, indicates that voluntary actions subsist with Allah the Exalted, and that He is the Doer of what He wills, as established in the Book and the Sunnah, such as His saying the Exalted: ".
This hadith, like other texts, indicates that voluntary actions subsist with Allah the Exalted.
These voluntary actions come up for you often. What does their meaning imply? Does it mean that Allah is compelled to perform actions? No. What they mean by voluntary actions is that they occur by His will. This category of attributes is denied by the people of ta'til (denial of the divine attributes). They say that He does not rise above, does not come, does not approach, does not rejoice, does not laugh, does not become angry, does not mock, and so on. Why? They say because these things are created, and the created cannot exist except in a created entity. They did not know that this is part of His perfection, and that He is the Doer of what He wills at all times. Let us return to the hadith.
"and that He is the Doer of what He wills, as established in the Book and the Sunnah, such as His saying the Exalted:

And when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me - indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me

وإذا سألك عبادي عني فإني قريب أجيب دعوة الداع إذا دعان

[Al-Baqarah 2:186]

and His saying:

And your Lord has come

وجاء ربك

" The point of this verse is His saying? No, "and His saying:

And your Lord has come and the angels, rank upon rank,

وجاء ربك والملك صفاً صفاً

[Al-Fajr 89:22]

" and that is on the Day of Resurrection, meaning He Himself, Mighty and Majestic. But how does He come? Allah knows best. meaning the angels, so the intended meaning is the genus. meaning a row behind a row.
"And His saying:

Do they [then] wait for anything except that the angels should come to them or your Lord should come or that there come some of the signs of your Lord?

هل ينظرون إلا أن تأتيهم الملائكة أو يأتي ربك أو يأتي بعض آيات ربك

[Al-An'am 6:158]

. And His saying:

The Most Merciful [who is] above the Throne established.

الرحمن على العرش استوى

[Taha 20:5]

And His saying (peace and blessings be upon him):

Our Lord descends every night to the nearest heaven, until the last third of the night remains

ينزل ربنا إلى السماء الدنيا حين يبقى ثلث الليل الآخر

Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3498Sahih (Darussalam)

And His saying (peace and blessings be upon him):

None gives charity from Tayyib - and Allah does not accept but Tayyib - but that Ar-Rahman accepts it with His Right (Hand)

ما تصدق أحد بصدقة من طيب ولا يقبل الله إلا الطيب إلا أخذها الرحمن بيمينه

Jami` at-Tirmidhi 661Sahih (Darussalam)

And so on, of verses and hadiths indicating that voluntary actions subsist with Him, Blessed and Exalted is He".
So His saying in this hadith: and is from this category. What category? Voluntary actions. And Allah the Exalted does what He wills; He draws near by an arm's length or a handspan or whatever He wills, and He comes as He wills, or slowly. All of this is in His command.