How can the saying of the Salaf, "Allah is separate from His creation," be reconciled with their saying, "Allah descends to the lowest heaven in the last third of the night," given that the heavens are part of His creation? And how do we affirm that Allah remains ascended above the Throne after the proofs have established His ascension upon it?

The descent of Allah the Almighty to the lowest heaven is a real descent befitting His Majesty, and it does not imply His indwelling in it, nor does it contradict His

استواء (establishment/ascension) over the Throne. He is the Most High, the Exalted, Whom His creations cannot encompass, and He is capable of descending and being established simultaneously without resembling His creation. And the استواء (establishment/ascension) over the Throne is an inherent attribute of Allah the Almighty that is never interrupted, as He has informed us in the Quran.