Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Our Lord, the Blessed, the Superior, comes every night down on the nearest Heaven to us when the last third of the night remains, saying: "Is there anyone to invoke Me, so that I may respond to invocation? Is there anyone to ask Me, so that I may grant him his request? Is there anyone seeking My forgiveness, so that I may forgive him?" [Sahih Bukhari, 2.246]

Imam al- Bayhaqi (rah) the great hadith scholar said:

قال أحمد وهذا النزول المراد به والله أعلم فعلا سماه الرسول عليه السلام نزولا بلا انتقال ولا زوال او أراد به نزول ملك من ملائكته بأمره وقد ذكرناه في غير هذا الموضع مفسرا .

Translation: ...Imam Ahmed (rah i.e. al- Bayhaqi) said: The Nazul, the meaning of this “ALLAH KNOWS.” The Prophet (Peace be upon him) mentioned it as an “ACT (NOT ESSENCE OF ALLAH HIMSELF)” and this descent is “WITHOUT MOVING FROM ONE PLACE TO ANOTHER AND ALSO WITHOUT ZAWAAL” or the Prophet meant by this that “ANGEL FROM ANGELS DESCENDS WITH AN ORDER.” We have mentioned it in detail at other place [Imam al- Bayhaqi in Shu’ab ul Imaan under Hadith # 3826]

Imam an- Nawawi (rah) states from great Salaf as- Salih i.e. Imam Malik (rah):

تأويل مالك بن أنس وغيره معناه تنزل رحمته وأمره وملائكته، كما قال: فعل السلطان: كذا إذا فعله أتباعه بأمره. والثاني: أنه على إِلاستعارة ومعناه الإقبال على الداعين بالإجابة واللطف والله أعلم

Translation: Imam Malik bin Anas (rah) and others  interpreted it by saying: ["your Lord descends"] means "His mercy, command, and angels descend," just as it is said, "The sultan did such- and- such," when his followers did it at his command. [an-Nawawi says]: The second is that it is a ''METAPHOR (الاستعارة )" signifying [Allah's] concern for those making supplication, by answering them and kindness toward them (Sahih Muslim bi Sharh al- Nawawi, Volume No. 6, Page No.31, Published by Dar ul Fikr, Beirut, Lebanon).

Ibn Hajr al Asqalani (rah) mentions:

وقال ابن العربي : حكي عن المبتدعة رد هذه الأحاديث , وعن السلف إمرارها , وعن قوم تأويلها وبه أقول . فأما قوله ينزل فهو راجع إلى أفعاله لا إلى ذاته , بل ذلك عبارة عن ملكه الذي ينزل بأمره ونهيه , والنزول كما يكون في الأجسام يكون في المعاني , فإن حملته في الحديث على الحسي فتلك صفة الملك المبعوث بذلك , وإن حملته على المعنوي بمعنى أنه لم يفعل ثم فعل فيسمى ذلك نزولا عن مرتبة إلى مرتبة , فهي عربية صحيحة انتهى . والحاصل أنه تأوله بوجهين : إما بأن المعنى ينزل أمره أو الملك بأمره , وإما بأنه استعارة بمعنى التلطف بالداعين والإجابة لهم ونحوه

Translation: Imam (Abu Bakr) Ibn al- `Arabi said: "It is reported that the innovators have rejected these hadiths, the Salaf let them pass as they came, and others interpreted them, and my position is the last one. The saying: "He descends" refers to His acts not His essence, indeed it is an expression for His angels who descend with His command and His prohibition. And just as descent can concern bodies, it can also concern ideas or spiritual notions (ma`ani). If one takes the hadith to refer to a physical occurrence, then descent would be the attribute of the angel sent to carry out an order. If one takes it to refer to a spiritual occurrence, that is, first He did not act, then He acted: this would be called a descent from one rank to another, and this is a sound Arabic meaning." In sum it is interpreted in two ways: the first is: His command or His angel descends; the second is: it is a metaphor for His regard for supplicants, His answering them, and so forth.

وقد حكى أبو بكر بن فورك أن بعض المشايخ ضبطه بضم أوله على حذف المفعول أي ينزل ملكا , ويقويه ما رواه النسائي من طريق الأغر عن أبي هريرة وأبي سعيد بلفظ " إن الله يمهل حتى يمضي شطر الليل , ثم يأمر مناديا يقول : هل من داع فيستجاب له " الحديث . وفي حديث عثمان بن أبي العاص " ينادي مناد هل من داع يستجاب له " الحديث . قال القرطبي : وبهذا يرتفع الإشكال , ولا يعكر عليه ما في رواية رفاعة الجهني " ينزل الله إلى السماء الدنيا فيقول : لا أسأل عن عبادي غيري " لأنه ليس في ذلك ما يدفع التأويل المذكور

Translation: Abu Bakr ibn Furak said: Some of the masters have read it yunzilu (He sends down) instead of yanzilu (He descends), that is: He sends down an angel. This is strengthened by Nisa'i's narration through al- Aghurr from Abu Hurayra and Abu Sa`id al- Khudri: "Allah waits until the first part of the night is over,then He orders a herald to say: Is there anyone supplicating so that he may be answered?..."There is also the hadith of `Uthman ibn Abi al- `As: "The gates of heaven are opened (in the middle) of the night and a herald calls out: Is there anyone supplicating so that he may be answered?..." Al- Qurtubi said: "This clears all ambiguity, and there is no interference by the narration of Rufa`at al- Jahni whereby "Allah descends to the nearest heaven and says: No-one other than I asks about My servants" for there is nothing in this which precludes the above- mentioned interpretation. [Fath ul Bari, 3:339 -  Dar ul Fikr. Translation taken from Marifah team]

وقال البيضاوي : ولما ثبت بالقواطع أنه سبحانه منزه عن الجسمية والتحيز امتنع عليه النزول على معنى الانتقال من موضع إلى موضع أخفض منه , فالمراد نور رحمته , أي ينتقل من مقتضى صفة الجلال التي تقتضي الغضب والانتقام إلى مقتضى صفة الإكرام التي تقتضي الرأفة والرحمة

Translation: Al- Baydawi said: "Since it is established with decisive proofs that the Exalted is transcendent above having a body or being circumscribed by boundaries, it is forbidden to attribute to Him descent in the sense of displacement from one place to another place lower than it. What is meant is the light of His mercy: that is, He moves from what is pursuant to the attribute of Majesty entailing wrath and punishment, to what is pursuant to the attribute of Generosity entailing kindness and mercy.""[ibid]

In this regard Salafis also misuse a verse of Qur'an stating:

وَجَاءَ رَبُّكَ وَالْمَلَكُ صَفًّا صَفًّا

 

And your Lord has come and the angels, rank upon rank [Sahih International: 89:22]

The great Salaf, Imam Ahmed bin Hanbal interpreted this verse as:

وروى البيهقي عن الحاكم عن أبي عمرو بن السماك عن حنبل أن أحمد بن حنبل تأول قول الله تعالى: (وجاء ربك) [ الفجر: 22 ] أنه جاء ثوابه.

ثم قال البيهقي: وهذا إسناد لا غبار عليه

Imam al- Bayhaqi narrates from al- Hakim >> Amr ibn Sammak >> Hanbal >> that Imam Ahmed bin Hanbal interpreted the saying of Allah "Your lord has come [al- Fajr : 22]" by saying "HIS RECOMPENSE (THAWAB) HAS COME"  after this al-Bayhaqi said: This chain has absolutely nothing wrong in it [Ibn Kathir in al- Bidayah wan Nihayah (10/360), Published by Dar ul Ihya li Tirath al Arabi, Beirut, Lebanon]

Note: Hanbli School have had scholars who were very vocal in taking literal meanings, whereas we can see above that Imam Ahmed bin Hanbal himself gave figurative explanation to such verses. Imam Ibn Jawzi who was a Hanbli himself wrote a complete book in refutation of literalist Hanblis.

In Tafsir al- Jalalyn it states: And your Lord, that is to say, His command, and the angels arrive rank on rank (saffan saffan is a circumstantial qualifier, meaning ‘standing in rows’ or ‘made up of many ranks’) [Tafsir al- Jalalyn under 89:22]

Imam Fakhr ud- din ar- Razi explains:

واعلم أنه ثبت بالدليل العقلي أن الحركة على الله تعالى محال

Translation: Know that it is established from intellectual proof that "MOVEMENT" for Allah is impossible [ar- Razi in Tafsir ul Kabir under 89:22]

Imam al- Qurtubi (rah) explains it as:

وله تعالى: { وَجَآءَ رَبُّكَ } أي أمره وقضاؤه؛ قاله الحسن. وهو من باب حذف المضاف. وقيل: أي جاءهم الربّ بالآيات العظيمة؛ وهو كقوله تعالى:

{ إِلاَّ أَن يَأْتِيَهُمُ ٱللَّهُ فِي ظُلَلٍ مِّنَ ٱلْغَمَامِ }

البقرة: 210]،

Translation: Here it refers to his Command and his ruling. This is the saying of Hasan al Basri...One saying is that their Lord brought great signs which is like Allah saying in Qur'an: Do they then wait for anything other than that Allah should come to them in the shadows of the clouds (2:210)...[Tafsir ul Qurtubi under 89:22]

Imam al- Qurtubi gives further explanation too which we have not shown due to brevity issue, however we would like to quote this when he says:

والله جل ثناؤه لا يوصف بالتحوّل من مكان إلى مكان، وأنَّى له التحوّل والانتقال، ولا مكان له ولا أوان، ولا يجري عليه وقت ولا زمان؛ لأن في جَرَيان الوقت على الشيء فوت الأوقات، ومن فاته شيء فهو عاجز

Translation: And Allah the Mighty and Exalted is not described with attribute of "MOVING FROM ONE PLACE TO ANOTHER" how could intiqal (moving) be assumed about Him when He has no Makan (place) nor is there time for Him, neither could time be applicable on him nor could Zaman, because for time to be applicable to anything, proves passing off of time from it, and anything for whom time has passed becomes dependent. [al- Qurtubi under 89:22]

Muhsin Khan/Hilali mistranslate this verse as: And your Lord comes with the angels in rows [Muhsin/Hilali 89:22]

This verse even in literal Arabic does not link Allah's coming "WITH" angels.