Praise be to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.
This statement should not be said, because neither the Qur’an nor the Sunnah establishes that Allah places His hand on the chest of someone who supplicates to Him during the pre-dawn hours. It is not permissible to describe Allah or attribute an action to Him without evidence. If the speaker merely intends to express the supplicant’s sense of reassurance, good expectation of Allah, and hope that his supplication will be answered, then the intended meaning may be sound. However, it is better not to express it in this form, because it attributes an action to Allah that has not been established by revelation.
The Names and Attributes of Allah are not established merely through personal preference or imagination. Rather, only what is established by evidence is affirmed.
Allah says:
“Say: My Lord has only forbidden immoralities—what is apparent of them and what is hidden—and sin, oppression without right, and associating with Allah that for which He has not sent down any authority, and saying about Allah that which you do not know.” [Al-A‘raf: 33]
Therefore, it is not permissible to attribute an action or attribute to Allah unless there is an authentic textual proof establishing it, even if the purpose is to encourage people to supplicate or to explain the virtue of the pre-dawn hours.
The statement mentioned contains a specific description of an action: “He places His hand on the chest of the one who supplicates,” and there is no evidence for this.
What is authentically established in the Sunnah is that Allah descends to the lowest heaven during the last third of the night and says:
“Who is calling upon Me so that I may answer him? Who is asking Me so that I may give him? Who is seeking My forgiveness so that I may forgive him?”
Narrated by al-Bukhari (1145) and Muslim.
This is a great virtue that is sufficient for the Muslim, and there is no need to add other descriptions that are not found in the revealed texts.
Imam Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
“We say as He said, and describe Him as He described Himself, and we do not go beyond that.”
Thus, the basic principle in this matter is to adhere to the texts and not go beyond them by describing Allah’s actions or their manner in ways that have not been reported.
The intended meaning of the statement may be that when a person supplicates to Allah during the night, he feels tranquility and senses Allah’s nearness, care, and response to his supplication. This can be a sound meaning in principle.
However, a good intention does not make an incorrect expression correct, because speaking about Allah is a serious matter and requires verification.
Allah says:
“So do not set up comparisons for Allah. Indeed, Allah knows, while you do not know.” [An-Nahl: 74]
It is therefore better to express the meaning using established and clear wording, such as:
These expressions convey the intended meaning without attributing to Allah something that has not been established.
It is not correct to say: “It is as though Allah places His hand on the chest of the one who supplicates during the pre-dawn hours and says to him: ‘Be reassured, I am with you,’” because placing His hand on the supplicant’s chest in this sense has not been established in the revealed texts, and it is not permissible to attribute an action to Allah without evidence.
As for the meaning of reassurance, having good expectations of Allah, and hoping for His response during the pre-dawn hours, this is a sound meaning. The virtue of supplication and seeking forgiveness during the last third of the night is established by authentic texts.
And Allah knows best.