How to reconcile the hadith stating that Allah descends in the middle third of the night with the hadith stating He descends in the last third of the night?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : ...mentioning, I mean, in the first third, in the half of the night... the other, how do we reconcile them?
The Shaykh : I need a telephone to amplify the sound.
The questioner : Some, I mean, some hadiths state that the descent occurs in the first third of the night.
The Shaykh : Yes
The student: And some say in the last third.
The Shaykh : In the middle third; some hadiths say the middle third, and in some hadiths the last third. The middle third is what aligns with the statement of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)Sahih al-Bukhari 3420. Also, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) often slept in the last part of the night, would stand for prayer for a third of the night, and sleep for the last sixth, as Aisha said: . So, the one who says "middle" means the descent begins from the middle, from the half. The two hadiths are reconciled, since both are authentic, by understanding that the divine descent is either from the middle to the end of the night, to reconcile the two hadiths in terms of duration, or it is said that the Lord (Mighty and Majestic) descends sometimes in the middle third of the night and sometimes in the last third of the night.
The questioner : Is it permissible to say, for example, Shaykh, that at the beginning of the middle third of the night, Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) sends His angels first...
The Shaykh : No, no, absolutely not. He descends, He Himself descends, yes.
The Shaykh : I need a telephone to amplify the sound.
The questioner : Some, I mean, some hadiths state that the descent occurs in the first third of the night.
The Shaykh : Yes
The student: And some say in the last third.
The Shaykh : In the middle third; some hadiths say the middle third, and in some hadiths the last third. The middle third is what aligns with the statement of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)
the prayer of David who used to sleep for (the first) half of the night and pray for 1/3 of it and (again) sleep for a sixth of it
أفضل القيام قيام داود كان ينام نصف الليل ويقوم ثلثه وينام سدسهI never found him awake in the last part of the night except sleeping.
ما ألفيته سحرا إلا نائماThe questioner : Is it permissible to say, for example, Shaykh, that at the beginning of the middle third of the night, Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) sends His angels first...
The Shaykh : No, no, absolutely not. He descends, He Himself descends, yes.