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Hadith 236

أَخْبَرَنَا النَّضْرُ، نا صَالِحُ بْنُ أَبِي الْأَخْضَرِ، عَنِ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ، عَنْ عَطَاءِ بْنِ يَزِيدَ اللَّيْثِيِّ، وَأَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ الْأَغَرِّ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: " إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَنْزِلُ كُلَّ لَيْلَةٍ إِذَا بَقِيَ ثُلُثُ اللَّيْلِ الْآخِرُ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ الدُّنْيَا فَيَقُولُ: مَنْ يَدْعُونِي أَسْتَجِبْ لَهُ، وَمَنْ يَسْتَغِفِرُنِي فَأَغْفِرُ لَهُ ".
Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated from the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), he (peace be upon him) said: "Allah Almighty descends to the lowest heaven every night when the last third of the night remains and says: Who calls upon Me so that I may answer his supplication, who asks Me for forgiveness so that I may forgive him."
Hadith Reference مسند اسحاق بن راهويه / كتاب التهجد و التطوع / 236
Hadith Takhrij «بخاري ، كتاب التهجد ، باب الدعاء والصلاة من اخر الليل ، رقم : 1145 . مسلم كتاب صلاة المسافرين ، باب الترغيب فى الدعاء الخ ، رقم : 758 . سنن ابوداود ، رقم : 1315 . سنن ابن ماجه ، رقم : 1366 .»
Explanation & Benefits
Hafiz Abdush Shakoor Tirmidhi
Benefits:
➊ ... From the mentioned hadith, the descent (nuzul) of Allah, the Possessor of Majesty, is established, and His descending is true and real. He descends in His Essence, not that what is meant is His mercy or an angel, as some people present interpretations. In "Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi," Allamah Abdur Rahman Mubarakpuri rahimahullah writes: "The majority of the Salaf, the four Imams, and many scholars of the religion hold the belief that, without interpretations, modality, or likening (tashbih)—Allah is free from such things—they have faith in these attributes of Allah as they have been reported, and this is the truth and correct. One must adhere to the way of the Salaf and not be among those who make interpretations."

It is thus understood that one must have faith in these attributes of Allah, the Possessor of Majesty, and should neither deny nor interpret them away, nor should one understand these attributes to be like the attributes of the creation. As Allah the Exalted says:
﴿لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ البَصِيرُ﴾ (ash-Shura: 11)
("There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.")

➋ ... From the above narration, it is understood that the last part of the night is extremely virtuous, and during this time, one should perform supererogatory prayers (nawafil), seek forgiveness (istighfar), and supplicate (make du'a). Allah, the Possessor of Majesty, has described the qualities of His servants:

Allah the Exalted says:
﴿كَانُوا قَلِيلًا مِّنَ اللَّيْلِ مَا يَهْجَعُونَ() وَبِالْأَسْحَارِ هُمْ يَسْتَغْفِرُونَ﴾ (adh-Dhariyat: 17-18)
("They used to sleep but little of the night. And in the hours before dawn, they would seek forgiveness.")
Source: Musnad Ishaq bin Rahwayh, Page: 236