What is the position of common people regarding the hadiths about Allah's descent to the lowest heaven in the last third of the night, and do they understand them as (meaning) indwelling, and if they believe that, is it valid to use their belief as an argument for (Allah's) elevatedness?

It is wrong to attribute the belief in hulul (divine indwelling or immanence) to common Muslims when they hear the ahadith about Allah's descent, for their innate nature rejects this belief. This mistaken notion arises in those whose hearts have been tainted by the shubhat al-tashbih (fallacy of anthropomorphism), as they claim that the texts describing Allah's attributes seem to imply anthropomorphism and thus must be interpreted allegorically (ta'wil). However, the correct understanding is that attributes such as life, will, knowledge, and power are affirmed for Allah Almighty in a manner befitting Him and do not resemble what is affirmed for the creation.

Al-Alusi clarified that it is impermissible to interpret allegorically the khabar (narrative) reports, such as the ahadith of descent, on the grounds that they do not conform to rational proof. This is because Arabs understand descent in its absolute sense, and since it is established among them that "there is nothing like unto Him," the meaning is conveyed to them in a way that transcends any imperfection.

Indeed, the creed of the common people is the creed of sound fitra (innate disposition) that has not been corrupted, and it does not contradict the sacred texts as understood by the Salaf (pious predecessors), who heard the texts of the attributes and affirmed them without distortion (tahrif) or denial (ta'til), and without questioning how (takyeef) or likening (tamtheel).

Allah's attributes are of two types: intellectual (aqliyyah) and narrative (khabariyyah). The intellectual attributes are those whose affirmation is shared by legal proof, rational proof, and sound fitra, such as hearing, sight, and power. The narrative attributes are those known only through text, though sound intellect does not contradict them, such as the attributes of the two Hands and descending to the lowest heaven.