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The question

How can one reconcile the saying "Were Allah to draw near to the cosmos, the splendors of the light of His countenance would incinerate all that His gaze reaches" with the Hadith "Indeed, Allah descends every night to the lowest heaven"?

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Source: FtawySummarized from the full answer at Ftawy · imported Sep 2, 20261 min readAlso available in العربية
The answer

No scholar is known to have said that if Allah were to draw near to the universe, the splendors of the light of His Face would burn everything His gaze reached. Rather, what is established is that the barrier preventing burning is the veil of light, and that burning occurs when the veil is lifted, not due to closeness or distance. This is based on the Prophet's (peace be upon him) saying: "His veil is light; were He to remove it, the splendors of His Face would burn everything His gaze reached of His creation." Therefore, there is no contradiction between this and the hadith of descent. Allah is unlike anything in His essence and attributes, and His descent befits His majesty. We entrust the 'how' of this to Him.

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Where this answer came from
Source platform
Ftawy
Original fatwa ID
140619
Imported
Translation status
Source text, unreviewed
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