lowest heaven and says: 'No one asks more about my servants thatn myself. Who is asking me, so I can give to him? Who is calling uon me, so I can answer him? who is seeking my forgiveness, so I can forgive him?'". I got two questions about this hadith. Does Allah descend to the lowest heavnes, or to the earth. There is another hadith saying that Allah comes in the shadow of the clouds and some animals know it except for jinn and mankind. I am confused, does Allah descend to the lowest heavens and animals sense it or he descends to earth?.
Praise be to Allah.
Firstly: The matters that you have asked
about are matters of the Unseen which man cannot know except via Revelation
– i.e., the Qur’aan and Sunnah. Undoubtedly the divine descent ends at the
lowest heaven, and Allaah does not descend to the earth, as the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) stated: “Our Lord descends to
the lowest heaven,” he did not say: to the earth.
Secondly: With regard to what you mentioned
about Allaah coming in the shade of the clouds, and that some animals
recognize that, after researching in the available books of hadeeth, and
studying the words of the scholars of deep knowledge who spoke of the issue
of the descent of the Lord – may He be exalted – to the lowest heaven, we
did not find anything to indicate that any such thing can be proven. What we
have to do is to affirm that which was affirmed by the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), which is that Allaah
descends to the lowest heaven, and that He descends in a manner that befits
Him, and we refer knowledge of anything other than that to the One Who knows
it, may He be exalted and glorified, for He is the All-Knowing, All-Wise.
But it states in the Holy Qur’aan that when
Allaah comes on the Day of Resurrection to pass judgement, He will come in
the shade of the clouds, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Do they then wait for anything other
than that Allaah should come to them in the shadows of the clouds and the
angels? (Then) the case would be already judged. And to Allaah return all
matters (for decision)”
[al-Baqarah 2:210]
But this will happen on the Day of
Resurrection.
And it should be noted that there is no
contradiction at all between our belief that Allaah is above all things and
that He is the Exalted, the Almighty, and our belief that He descends to the
lowest heaven, for the highness of Allaah is one of His essential attributes
which cannot alter or change – i.e., it cannot be other than it is described
at any time – so there is no contradiction between them, firstly, because
the texts refer to both of them (i.e., His descending and His highness), and
the texts cannot say anything that is impossible as is well known; and
secondly, because there is nothing like unto Allaah in all His attributes,
so His descending is not like the descening of any of His creatures so that
one could say that it contradicts the idea of His being exalted.
And Allaah knows best.
See: Kitaab al-Sunnah by Ibn Abi
‘Aasim, 215; Majmoo’ Fataawa wa Rasaa’il al-Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih
al-‘Uthaymeen.