Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
Authentic hadiths have been established from the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم affirming the attribute of Allah’s descent, and that it occurs during the last third of the night. We believe in this in a manner befitting the majesty of Allah, without likening it to the descent of created beings and without asking how it occurs. The last third is calculated in each country according to the duration of the night there.
Many hadiths have been narrated from the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم affirming the descent. Among them is his saying:
“Our Lord descends to the lowest heaven every night when the last third of the night remains, and He 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?’”
Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama‘ah unanimously affirm the attribute of Allah’s descent in a manner befitting Him, without likening it to the descent of created beings.
Allah تعالى says:
“Say: He is Allah, One. Allah, the Self-Sufficient. He neither begets nor is born, nor is there to Him any equivalent.” [Al-Ikhlas: 1–4]
And He سبحانه says:
“There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.” [Ash-Shura: 11]
According to Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama‘ah, it is obligatory to believe in what has come in the Qur’an and Sunnah concerning the attributes of Allah تعالى, and to accept the texts concerning His attributes as they have come, without distortion or denial, and without asking how or likening them to creation.
Thus, we affirm the attribute of Allah’s descent as affirmed by the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, and we believe that His descent does not resemble the descent of created beings. We do not seek to determine how His descent occurs, because the manner in which Allah’s attributes exist is known only to Him.
The principle concerning Allah’s attributes is like the principle concerning His Essence: just as we affirm the Essence of Allah سبحانه without asking how or likening it to creation, likewise we affirm His attributes without asking how or likening them to creation.
Allah تعالى says:
“So do not assert likenesses for Allah. Indeed, Allah knows and you do not know.” [An-Nahl: 74]
The last third of the night in each country is determined according to the nighttime there, because night differs from one place to another, just as its length and shortness vary according to countries and seasons.
Therefore, the time of the last third is not one fixed hour for all people on Earth. Rather, it is calculated for each country according to its time of sunset and the beginning of dawn.
For example:
If the night in a certain country is nine hours, its last third begins after six hours of the night have passed, that is, at the beginning of the seventh hour, and continues until dawn.
If the night is twelve hours, the last third begins after eight hours have passed, that is, at the beginning of the ninth hour, and continues until dawn.
Thus, the beginning and end of the last third are determined in each place according to the length or shortness of the night.
A person should not imagine Allah’s descent as resembling the descent of human beings or other created beings, because Allah سبحانه is unlike anything else, and His attributes do not resemble the attributes of His creation.
Therefore, differences in nighttime between countries should not be used as a reason to reject or reinterpret the hadith. Rather, we believe in what has been authentically reported from the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and entrust the manner of the attribute of descent to Allah تعالى. He سبحانه knows best the manner of His Essence and His attributes.
The last third of the night is calculated in each country according to the length of its night. It begins after two-thirds of the night have passed and continues until dawn.
As for the divine attribute of descent, we affirm it as it has been reported in the Sunnah, in a manner befitting Allah تعالى, without asking how, likening it to creation, or comparing it to created beings, and we do not know how His descent occurs.
And Allah is the One who grants success, and Allah knows best.