Descent of Allah (al-Nuzūl)
This excerpt is taken from Shaykh Ghulām Muṣṭafā Ẓahīr Amānpūrī’s book “Where is Allah?”The Descent of Allah, the Exalted
The unanimous and agreed-upon belief of Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamāʿah is that Allah Almighty descends every night to the lowest heaven (the heaven of the world). This descent is real, and it is one of Allah’s true and affirmed attributes. This belief is established through authentic hadiths and the consensus of the Ummah. The explicit statements of the great hadith scholars رحمهم الله testify to this.Sayyidunā Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
يَنْزِلُ رَبُّنَا تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى كُلَّ لَيْلَةٍ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ الدُّنْيَا حِينَ يَبْقَى ثُلُثُ اللَّيْلِ الْآخِرُ، فَيَقُولُ: مَنْ يَدْعُونِي، فَأَسْتَجِيبَ لَهُ؟ مَنْ يَسْأَلُنِي، فَأُعْطِيَهُ؟ مَنْ يَسْتَغْفِرُنِي، فَأَغْفِرَ لَهُ؟
“Every night, when the last third of the night remains, our Lord—Blessed and Exalted—descends to the lowest heaven and says: ‘Who is calling upon Me, that I may respond to him? Who is asking Me, that I may give him? Who is seeking My forgiveness, that I may forgive him?’”
Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 1145
Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 758
✔ Statement of Ḥāfiẓ Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr (463 AH)
Ḥāfiẓ Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr رحمه الله said:هَذَا الْحَدِيثُ لَمْ يَخْتَلِفْ أَهْلُ الْحَدِيثِ فِي صِحَّتِهِ.
“The hadith scholars have no disagreement regarding the authenticity of this hadith.”
Reference: al-Tamhīd limā fī al-Muwaṭṭaʾ min al-Maʿānī wa’l-Asānīd: 7/134
① Reports from Other Companions
Hadiths concerning the Descent of Allah are also narrated from the following Companions رضي الله عنهم:◈ Sayyidunā Abū Saʿīd and Sayyidunā Abū Hurayrah
Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 758/172
◈ Sayyidunā ʿAlī
مسند الإمام أحمد: 1/210 (and its chain is ḥasan)
Ḥāfiẓ al-Mundhirī رحمه الله
Reference: al-Targhīb wa’l-Tarhīb: 1/165
and Ḥāfiẓ al-Haythamī رحمه الله
Reference: Majmaʿ al-Zawāʾid: 2211
declared its chain ḥasan.◈ Sayyidunā Jubayr ibn Muṭʿim
Reference: Musnad Aḥmad: 4/81
Reference: Musnad al-Dārimī: 1488
Reference: al-Sunnah by ʿAbdullāh ibn Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal: 1199
(and its chain is ṣaḥīḥ)
◈ Rifāʿah ibn ʿArābah al-Juhanī
Reference: Musnad Aḥmad: 4/16
Reference: Musnad al-Ṭayālisī: p. 182
Reference: al-Nuzūl by al-Dāraquṭnī: 68
(and its chain is ṣaḥīḥ)
Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar رحمه الله declared its chain ṣaḥīḥ.
Reference: al-Iṣābah fī Tamyīz al-Ṣaḥābah: 3/284
◈ Sayyidunā ʿUqbah ibn ʿĀmir
Reference: al-Nuzūl by al-Dāraquṭnī: 100
(and its chain is ṣaḥīḥ)
② Scholars Who Declared These Hadiths Mutawātir
The hadiths regarding the Descent of Allah have been declared mutawātir by the following scholars رحمهم الله:◈ Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī
Reference: al-ʿUluww: p. 110, 116
◈ Ḥāfiẓ Ibn ʿAbd al-Hādī
Reference: al-Ṣārim al-Munkī: p. 220
◈ al-ʿAllāmah Ibn Taymiyyah
Reference: Sharḥ Ḥadīth al-Nuzūl: p. 107
◈ Ḥāfiẓ Ibn al-Qayyim
Reference: Mukhtaṣar al-Ṣawāʿiq: 2/248
◈ Ḥāfiẓ al-Sakhāwī
Reference: Fatḥ al-Mughīth: 3/43
◈ al-ʿAllāmah al-Kattānī
Reference: Naẓm al-Mutanāthir: p. 114–115 (quoting al-Suyūṭī, agreeing with him)
③ Statement of Ibn Taymiyyah (728 AH)
Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله wrote:النزول المذكور في الحديث النبوي... ويكون النزول أنواعا ثلاثة...
“The descent mentioned in the Prophetic hadith—upon the one who said it be the best prayer and السلام—upon which both al-Bukhārī and Muslim agreed, and the scholars of hadith agreed upon its authenticity, occurs ‘when the last third of the night remains’. It has been narrated from the Prophet ﷺ through a large number of Companions, as we mentioned previously; thus it is mutawātir among the scholars of hadith. That which is beyond doubt is the matter of the last third of the night. Even if the Prophet ﷺ also mentioned the descent after the first third has passed and after midnight, his statement is true—he is the truthful, the one believed. Therefore, the descent is of three types: the first after the first third of the night has passed; the second after midnight, and it is more eloquent than the first; and the third when the last third remains, and it is the most eloquent of the three.”
Reference: Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā: 5/470
④ Statement of Imām Isḥāq ibn Rāhawayh (238 AH)
Shaykh al-Islām Imām Isḥāq ibn Rāhawayh رحمه الله said:جَمَعَنِي وَهَذَا الْمُبْتَدِعُ... فَقُلْتُ: آمَنْتُ بِرَبٍّ يَفْعَلُ مَا يَشَاءُ.
“I and this innovator—meaning Ibrāhīm ibn Abī Ṣāliḥ—were gathered in the assembly of Amīr ʿAbdullāh ibn Ṭāhir. The Amīr asked me about the reports of descent, so I narrated them. Ibrāhīm said: ‘I disbelieve in a Lord who descends from one heaven to another.’ I said: ‘I believe in a Lord who does whatever He wills.’”
Reference: al-Asmāʾ wa’l-Ṣifāt by al-Bayhaqī: 2/197
Reference: In another copy: 2/375–376, ḥadīth: 951 (and its chain is ṣaḥīḥ)
⑤ Statement of Imām al-Tirmidhī (279 AH)
Imām al-Tirmidhī رحمه الله said:قد قال غير واحد من أهل العلم... أمروها بلا كيف...
“More than one of the people of knowledge has said regarding this hadith and similar narrations concerning the attributes—such as the descent of the Lord, Blessed and Exalted, every night to the lowest heaven—that these reports are affirmed, and one believes in them; one should not engage in delusions, nor should it be said: ‘How?’ This has been narrated from Mālik ibn Anas, Sufyān ibn ʿUyaynah, and ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Mubārak that they said regarding such hadiths: ‘Pass them on as they have come, without asking how.’ This is the statement of the scholars of Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamāʿah. As for the Jahmiyyah, they denied these reports and said: ‘This is التشبيه (anthropomorphism).’”
Reference: Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī, under ḥadīth: 662
⑥ Statement of Imām Ibn Khuzaymah (311 AH)
Imām al-Aʾimmah Ibn Khuzaymah رحمه الله wrote:باب ذكر أخبار ثابتة السند صحيحة القوام... من غير أن نصف الكيفية...
“Chapter: Mentioning reports with established chains and sound authenticity, narrated by the scholars of the Ḥijāz and Iraq from the Prophet ﷺ regarding the descent of the Lord, Majestic and Exalted, to the lowest heaven every night. We testify with a testimony of one who confesses with his tongue, believes with his heart, and is certain of what these reports contain regarding the descent of the Lord—without describing the how—because our chosen Prophet ﷺ did not describe the manner of the descent of our Creator to the lowest heaven. He informed us that He descends, and Allah, Majestic and Exalted, and His Prophet ﷺ did not leave unexplained anything that the Muslims needed regarding their religion. Thus we affirm and believe what these reports mention concerning descent, without burdening ourselves with describing its attribute or its manner, since the Prophet ﷺ did not describe for us its manner.”
Reference: Kitāb al-Tawḥīd: 288–290
⑦ Statement of Abū’l-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī (324 AH)
Imām Abū’l-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī رحمه الله wrote:يصدقون بالأحاديث... إن الله ينزل إلى السماء الدنيا...
“They affirm the hadiths that have come from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: that Allah descends to the lowest heaven and says: ‘Is there anyone seeking forgiveness?’—as has come in the hadith.”
Reference: Maqālāt al-Islāmiyyīn: 1/295
⑧ Statement of Imām al-Ājurrī (360 AH)
Imām Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn al-Ājurrī رحمه الله said:باب الإيمان والتصديق بأن الله عز وجل ينزل...
“Chapter: Believing and affirming that Allah عز وجل descends to the lowest heaven every night. Belief in this is obligatory, and it is not permissible for an intelligent Muslim to say: ‘How does He descend?’ None reject this except the Muʿtazilah.”
Reference: Kitāb al-Sharīʿah: 3/1126
⑨ Qur’anic Evidence Cited by Imām al-Dārimī (280 AH)
Imām Abū Saʿīd ʿUthmān ibn Saʿīd al-Dārimī رحمه الله wrote that among the verses used as proof for descent and as an argument against those who deny it is the statement of Allah تعالى:هَلْ يَنْظُرُونَ إِلَّا أَنْ يَأْتِيَهُمُ اللهُ فِي ظُلَلٍ مِنَ الْغَمَامِ وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ
Reference: al-Baqarah: 210
“Are they waiting except that Allah comes to them in canopies of clouds, and the angels (as well)?”
He argued that the One who is able to descend on the Day of Resurrection to judge between His servants is also able to descend every night from one heaven to another. If they reject the statement of the Messenger ﷺ regarding descent, then what will they do with the statement of Allah, Blessed and Exalted?
Reference: al-Radd ʿalā al-Jahmiyyah: p. 74
⑩ Statement of Imām al-Ṣābūnī (449 AH)
Imām ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Ismāʿīl al-Ṣābūnī رحمه الله said:يثبت أصحاب الحديث نزول الرب... من غير تشبيه... ولا تمثيل، ولا تكييف...
“The people of hadith affirm the descent of the Lord سبحانه وتعالى every night to the lowest heaven without likening it to the descent of created beings, without resemblance, and without describing its manner. Rather, they affirm what the Messenger of Allah ﷺ affirmed and limit themselves to that. They pass the authentic report that mentions it upon its apparent meaning and entrust its knowledge to Allah.”
Reference: ʿAqīdat al-Salaf wa Aṣḥāb al-Ḥadīth: p. 40
He also wrote:
لما صح خبر النزول... ولم يبحثوا عن كيفيته...
“When the report of descent was authentically established from the Messenger ﷺ, Ahl al-Sunnah affirmed it and accepted the report, and they affirmed descent as the Messenger ﷺ stated. They did not believe it to resemble the descent of His creation, nor did they investigate its manner, for there is no way to it at all. They knew and were certain that Allah’s attributes do not resemble the attributes of creation, just as His Essence does not resemble the essences of creation. Allah تعالى is far above what the Mushabbihah and the Muʿaṭṭilah say—exalted immensely—and He curses them with a great curse.”
Reference: ʿAqīdat al-Salaf wa Aṣḥāb al-Ḥadīth: p. 58
⑪ Statement of Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr (463 AH)
Imām Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr رحمه الله wrote:الذي عليه جمهور أئمة أهل السنة... ولا يكيفون...
“The position of the majority of the imams of Ahl al-Sunnah is that they say: ‘He descends as the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said.’ They affirm this hadith but do not describe its manner. Speaking about the manner of descent is like speaking about the manner of istiwāʾ and coming; the proof in that is one and the same.”
Reference: al-Tamhīd: 7/143
⑫ Statement of Imām Abū’l-Qāsim al-Aṣbahānī (535 AH)
Imām Abū’l-Qāsim al-Aṣbahānī رحمه الله wrote:من مذهب أهل السنة: الإيمان بجميع ما ثبت... كحديث ينزل الله تعالى كل ليلة...
“From the creed of Ahl al-Sunnah is to believe in everything that is authentically established from the Prophet ﷺ regarding the attributes of Allah تعالى—such as the hadith that Allah descends every night to the lowest heaven.”
Reference: al-Ḥujjah fī Bayān al-Maḥajjah: 2/290
He also wrote:
... فإن قيل: ينزل أو ينزل، قيل: ينزل...
“ʿAlī ibn ʿUmar al-Ḥarbī mentioned in Kitāb al-Sunnah that Allah تعالى descends every night to the lowest heaven, as the Prophet ﷺ stated, without saying ‘How?’ If it is said: ‘He descends’ or ‘He sends down (something),’ then it is said: ‘He descends’—with the فتح (fatḥah) on the ياء and a كسر (kasrah) on the زاي. Whoever says ‘He sends down’ has innovated; and whoever says ‘It means He sends down light and radiance’ has also innovated and has opposed the Prophet ﷺ.”
Reference: al-Ḥujjah fī Bayān al-Maḥajjah wa Sharḥ ʿAqīdat Ahl al-Sunnah: 1/248–249
⑬ Further Statement of Imām al-Dārimī
Imām ʿUthmān ibn Saʿīd al-Dārimī رحمه الله wrote:هذه الأحاديث قد جاءت كلها... وعلى تصديقها والإيمان بها أدركنا أهل الفقه...
“All these hadiths—rather, more than these—have come regarding the descent of the Lord, Blessed and Exalted, at these times. We found the people of fiqh and insight among our teachers affirming them and believing in them; none of them denied them, nor refrained from narrating them—until this group appeared, opposing the آثار (reports) of the Messenger ﷺ and striving to repel them. They said: ‘How is this descent?’ We said: We were not burdened in our religion with knowing the manner of His descent, nor do our hearts comprehend it; nothing from His creation resembles Him such that we would liken any action or attribute of His to their actions or attributes. Rather, He descends by His power and by the subtlety of His Lordship as He wills; and the ‘how’ is not comprehensible. Belief in what the Messenger ﷺ said regarding His descent is obligatory…”
Reference: al-Radd ʿalā al-Jahmiyyah: p. 93–94
He further said:
ادعى المعارض أن الله لا ينزل بنفسه...
“The opponent claimed that Allah does not descend Himself; rather, while He remains on the Throne and everywhere—without leaving His place—His command and mercy descend, because He is al-Ḥayy al-Qayyūm. In his view, al-Qayyūm means the one who does not move from his place. It will be said to him: This is also the argument of women and children and those who have no clear explanation, nor is there any proof in their doctrine. For Allah’s command and mercy descend at every hour and time—so why did the Prophet ﷺ specify the night instead of the day…?”
Reference: al-Radd ʿalā al-Marīsī: p. 51–52
⑭ Statement of Imām Ṭalmanakī (129 AH)
Imām Abū ʿAmr Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdullāh Ṭalmanakī رحمه الله said:أجمعوا على أن الله ينزل كل ليلة إلى سماء الدنيا... كيف شاء...
“They have unanimously agreed that Allah descends every night to the lowest heaven, as the reports have come—however He wills; they do not specify anything regarding it.”
Reference: Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā by Ibn Taymiyyah: 5/577
✿ موقف جدید جہمیہ (Modern Jahmiyyah)
The modern Jahmiyyah deny the descent befitting Allah’s Majesty. Rather, they say it means: Allah sends a special mercy, or sends down a command, or sends an angel, or “a descent of majesty,” and so on.Such interpretation contradicts the Qur’an, hadith, the consensus of the Ummah, and the unified statements of the imams of hadith and the righteous predecessors, and is therefore not worthy of attention.
⚠ تنبیہ (Warning)
If someone says: “When Allah descends, does the Throne become empty?”Then our answer is: This question is an innovation. The knowledge of the manner of this descent is with Allah تعالى. The Sharīʿah is silent about it, so we remain silent. The Companions and the hadith scholars remained silent about it; therefore, we also remain silent. And all praise is for Allah!
✔ فائدہ (Benefit)
From the hadiths of descent it is established that Allah is above the Throne, and not present everywhere.Imām Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr رحمه الله wrote:
فِيهِ دَلِيلٌ عَلَى أَنَّ اللهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فِي السَّمَاءِ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ مِنْ فَوْقِ سَبْعِ سَمَاوَاتٍ...
“In it is proof that Allah عز وجل is in the heaven, upon the Throne, above the seven heavens, as the الجماعة (Ahl al-Sunnah) say. It is from their proofs against the Muʿtazilah and others who say: ‘He is in every place and not upon the Throne.’ This hadith is a strong proof for Ahl al-Sunnah against them.”
Reference: al-Tamhīd: 7/129
And he said at another place:
عَلَى هَذَا أَهْلُ الْحَقِّ.
“Upon this are the people of الحق (truth).”
Reference: al-Tamhīd limā fī al-Muwaṭṭaʾ min al-Maʿānī wa’l-Asānīd: 22/80
Meaning: Whoever believes Allah is everywhere instead of above the Throne is not upon the truth according to Imām Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr رحمه الله—and rather, according to all the hadith scholars. And all praise is for Allah upon that!
Conclusion
Nuzūl (Descent) is one of Allah’s فعلية (action-based) attributes.And this descent is real, in a manner befitting Allah’s Majesty.
