Affirming the Attribute of Descent for Allah the Exalted
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Question:
Among the questions of this questioner, he says—O His Eminence the Shaykh—the hadith of the descent, the statement: Does our Lord descend , or does the mercy descend?
Answer:
The hadiths have been transmitted in a mass-transmitted manner from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in the two Sahihs and others; that Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He): The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sunan Abi Dawud 4733Sahih (Al-Albani) He informed about Himself that He descends, but no one knows how the descent is except He, just as no one knows how the rising above the Throne is except He (Glorified and Exalted is He). He descends as He wills, and as befits His Majesty. No one knows how His descent is except He. So we say: He descends, and we do not ask how, we do not liken Him to creation, we do not add, and we do not subtract. Rather, we say: Our Lord descends, as He said: Sunan Abi Dawud 4733Sahih (Al-Albani) And in the other wording: And in the other wording: .
It is obligatory for every Muslim to believe in this descent with a firm, certain belief, in the manner befitting Allah, without asking how. Just as we say regarding the rising above the Throne: The rising above the Throne is known, and the how is unknown. So we say: The descent is known, and the how is unknown. This is what the imams of the Salaf said, such as Malik, his Shaykh Rabi'ah ibn Abi 'Abd al-Rahman, Sufyan al-Thawri, al-Awza'i, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and others of the imams of Islam. They said regarding the rising above the Throne—and so regarding the descent: He rose as befits His Majesty, He rose without a how. The rising above the Throne is known, the how is unknown, belief in it is obligatory, and asking—meaning: about the how—is a religious innovation.
So we say: He becomes angry, and He is pleased (Glorified and Exalted is He), with an anger that befits His Majesty, not resembling the anger of created beings. And so He hears and sees, not like the hearing of created beings, nor like the sight of created beings, but with a hearing that befits His Majesty, and a sight that befits His Majesty, not resembling the attributes of created beings. And so with the rest of the attributes, their door is one. We affirm them for Allah in the manner befitting the Majesty of Allah, not resembling His creation in any of His attributes. Allah the Exalted said: [Surat al-Shura: 11] Glorified is He!
This is the statement of the people of the Sunnah and the community, who are the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and their followers with excellence until the Day of Resurrection. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you, His Eminence the Shaykh, and bless you.
Among the questions of this questioner, he says—O His Eminence the Shaykh—the hadith of the descent, the statement:
Our Lord descends in the last third
ينزل ربنا في الثلث الأخيرAnswer:
The hadiths have been transmitted in a mass-transmitted manner from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in the two Sahihs and others; that Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He):
Our Lord descends to the heaven of the world every night
ينزل ربنا إلى سماء الدنيا كل ليلةOur lord gets down every night to the heaven of this world when a third night remains and says: (Is there anyone) who prays to Me so that I may accept his prayer? (Is there anyone) who asks of Me so that I may give him? (Is there anyone) who asks for my forgiveness so that I may forgive him?
ينزل ربنا إلى سماء الدنيا كل ليلة، حين يبقى ثلث الليل الآخر، فينادي، فيقول: من يدعوني فأستجيب له، من يسألني فأعطيه، من يستغفرني فأغفر لهOur lord gets down every night to the heaven of this world when a third night remains and says: (Is there anyone) who prays to Me so that I may accept his prayer? (Is there anyone) who asks of Me so that I may give him? (Is there anyone) who asks for my forgiveness so that I may forgive him?
ينزل ربنا إلى سماء الدنيا كل ليلة، حين يبقى ثلث الليل الآخر، فيقول: من يدعوني فأستجيب له، من يسألني فأعطيه، من يستغفرني فأغفر لهIs there anyone asking that I may give him what he asks? Is there anyone calling upon Me that I may respond to him? Is there anyone seeking My forgiveness that I may forgive him?
هل من سائل فيعطى سؤله؟ هل من داعٍ فيستجاب له؟ هل من مستغفر فيغفر له؟Is there anyone repenting that I may accept his repentance?
هل من تائب، فيتاب عليه؟It is obligatory for every Muslim to believe in this descent with a firm, certain belief, in the manner befitting Allah, without asking how. Just as we say regarding the rising above the Throne: The rising above the Throne is known, and the how is unknown. So we say: The descent is known, and the how is unknown. This is what the imams of the Salaf said, such as Malik, his Shaykh Rabi'ah ibn Abi 'Abd al-Rahman, Sufyan al-Thawri, al-Awza'i, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and others of the imams of Islam. They said regarding the rising above the Throne—and so regarding the descent: He rose as befits His Majesty, He rose without a how. The rising above the Throne is known, the how is unknown, belief in it is obligatory, and asking—meaning: about the how—is a religious innovation.
So we say: He becomes angry, and He is pleased (Glorified and Exalted is He), with an anger that befits His Majesty, not resembling the anger of created beings. And so He hears and sees, not like the hearing of created beings, nor like the sight of created beings, but with a hearing that befits His Majesty, and a sight that befits His Majesty, not resembling the attributes of created beings. And so with the rest of the attributes, their door is one. We affirm them for Allah in the manner befitting the Majesty of Allah, not resembling His creation in any of His attributes. Allah the Exalted said:
There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing.
لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ البَصِيرُThis is the statement of the people of the Sunnah and the community, who are the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and their followers with excellence until the Day of Resurrection. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you, His Eminence the Shaykh, and bless you.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.