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How can the Hadith of Descent be interpreted literally, taking into consideration the descent of angels and Jibreel on Laylat al-Qadr and Allah Almighty's loftiest example, and is the last third of the night better than Laylat al-Qadr?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The assertion that God's descent is to be interpreted as the descent of an angel is a false distortion and a saying of the Jahmiyyah, for several reasons:

1. Angels descend continuously by God's command, whereas the divine descent in the hadith occurs at a specific time. 2. The phrasing "Who will ask Me, that I may give him? Who will call upon Me, that I may answer him?" cannot be uttered by an angel on behalf of God. Angels convey God's command in the third person, such as "Indeed, Allah commands you with so-and-so," not in the first person. 3. If there is a caller who announces the Lord's command, it is the Lord who says, "I ask no one but Myself about My servants," not the caller. To claim that the caller says this is a lie against the Messenger of Allah and contradicts the widely transmitted wording. It is also an unsound statement logically, and among the fabrications of the innovators.

As for what was attributed to Imam Al-Nasa'i regarding the interpretation of the hadith as the descent of an angel, it is incorrect. What is well-known about him is the affirmation of the Names and Attributes without distortion or anthropomorphism.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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