Question :
The hadith about the descent of our Lord to the heaven of the dunia (this world) during the last third of the night ; and this every night. However, the last third of the night is different from one town to another and from one country to another, even if in every day we have these three durations. So does this means the He is always in the lowest heaven ?
Answer by shaykh Uthaymin :
We think Ô my brother that we will not move from our position which forbids us to talk about / enter in such things.
If you are in a country and during the last third of the night then have belief / be certain that Allâh descends to the lowest — of the dunia. And if you are in another country and not during the time (last third of the night), then there is no descent (of our Lord).
For instance : concerning us, here, we will soon reach Dhuhr and there is no descent (of our Lord). Whereas if we take another geographical point that is in the third part of the night, we say : the descent of Allah is confirmed and Allâh Ta’ala (said) :
[42:11] – لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِۦ شَىْءٌۭ ۖ
[…] There is nothing like unto Him […]
for all of His attributes. So this question is an exaggerated one. Believe that Allâh descends to heaven of the dunia when there is the last part of the night remaining, every night and at any place.
As for saying that He always is in descent so it is not true. May this answer remain in your pocket, don’t get it out. When you are in the last third of the night, Our Lord descends and when you are in a different time, the Lord doesn’t descends, and this matter stops here. Since the attributes of Allâh are not like the attributes of the creatures, when we believe that Allah descends in the heaven of the dunia, we believe that He is above everything. Can we imagine this for a creature ? That it can descent to a location and that it can be above all things ? With that, we believe that Allah is above all things and that He descends and that the moment that the slave is the closest to His Lord is during prostration while He is above His throne . And we don’t say, how can the slave can be the closest to his Lord during prostration, while He is abode His Throne ? We respond : this is only happens when we imagine that the attributes of the Creator are similar to the attributes of the creation.
My advice towards you Ô my brothers is to not enter in these matters because Allâh is more immense and more glorified than what the reason/intellect or the vision can reach.
Say : « I believe in Allâh », then say :
[42:11] – لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِۦ شَىْءٌۭ ۖ
[…] There is nothing like unto Him […]
And (the matter) stops here. Do you understand ?
So if these kind of question come to you, because people who compare with their intellect the descent of the Creator with the descent of the creation, have these type of question, we then say : « Believe in what has come through the Texts, don’t go beyond it and don’t bring questions around it. »