The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "When the last third of the night remains, Allah descends to the lowest heaven and says, 'Who is calling upon Me, that I may answer him? Who is seeking My forgiveness, that I may forgive him? Who is asking Me for provision, that I may provide for him? Who is seeking relief from hardship, that I may remove it from him?' This continues until the break of dawn."
حدثنا يزيد أخبرنا هشام وعبد الوهاب أخبرنا هشام عن يحيى عن أبي جعفر أنه
قال رسول الله ﷺ إذا بقي ثلث الليل نزل الله عز وجل إلى سماء الدنيا فيقول من ذا الذي يدعوني فأستجيب له من ذا الذي يستغفرني فأغفر له من ذا الذي يسترزقني فأرزقه من ذا الذي يستكشف الضر فأكشفه عنه حتى ينفجر الفجر
Its isnad is sahih through two routes. Ahmad narrated it from Yazid, and from Abdul-Wahhab, both of them from Hisham Dastawai, from Yahya bin Abu Kathir. Abu Jafar is the Ansari, the Madinan, the muezzin. Tirmidhi said (3/118), Abu Jafar, who narrated from Abu Hurairah, is called Abu Jafar the muezzin, and we do not know his name. Yahya bin Abu Kathir narrated more than one hadith from him. Al-Hafiz mentioned in Tahdhib (12/55), quoting Darimi, This Abu Jafar is a man from the Ansar. Al-Hafiz said, Ibn Qattan affirmed this decisively.This is the hadith of the Descent, which more than one companion narrated from the Prophet ﷺ with its meaning, among them Abu Hurairah. A large number of the Followers narrated it from Abu Hurairah, among them this Abu Jafar. It is a sahih hadith, mutawatir in meaning, definitive both in its authenticity and in its meaning. The compilers of the Six Books recorded it from the hadith of Abu Hurairah through more than one route. The Imam of Imams, Ibn Khuzayma, gathered many of its wordings and chains in his book Kitab Tawhid (pp. 83-95). Bukhari (3/25-26), Muslim (1/210), Abu Dawud (1315, 4733), and Tirmidhi (1/333, 4/258) narrated it through some of its routes from Abu Hurairah. See our commentary on Tirmidhi, hadith 446.We have already given our view there regarding hadiths about the divine attributes, of which this hadith is one. We adopt the position that was sufficient for our righteous predecessors, refraining from interpretation, and we believe in what has come in the Book and the sahih sunnah, while declaring Allah, glory be to Him, free from having a manner or any resemblance to His creation.As for this very isnad, the narration of Abu Jafar al-Madani from Abu Hurairah, Ibn Khuzayma narrated it (p. 86) through the route of Ibn Abu Adi, from Hisham, but he did not mention its wording, referring instead to the wordings given before it. Al-Hafiz referred to it in Fath al-Bari (3/25), noting that Nasai narrated it. He also referred to it on page 26, saying, Abu Jafar added to it, "Who is it that asks me for provision, that I may provide for him? Who is it that seeks relief from harm, that I may remove it from him?" Tayalisi narrated this addition alone (2516), from Hisham, from Yahya bin Abu Kathir, with the same chain.