How word travels from the Throne downward
It moves one heaven at a time.
إِذَا قَضَى أَمْرًا سَبَّحَ لَهُ حَمَلَةُ الْعَرْشِ ثُمَّ سَبَّحَ أَهْلُ السَّمَاءِ الَّذِينَ يَلُونَهُمْ ثُمَّ الَّذِينَ يَلُونَهُمْ
Idhā qaḍā amran sabbaḥa lahu ḥamalatu-l-ʿarsh, thumma sabbaḥa ahlu-s-samāʾi-lladhīna yalūnahum, thumma-lladhīna yalūnahum
“When He decrees a matter, the bearers of the Throne glorify Him, then the inhabitants of the heaven next to them, then those next to them.”
Where this comes from
It keeps going down until the glorification reaches the lowest sky. Then they ask each other what their Lord said, and it is passed back up the same way it came down.
The full narration
Narrated Ibn 'Abbas:"We were with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), while he was sitting with a group of his Companions, when they saw a glowing shooting star. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: 'When you saw the likes of this during Jahiliyyah, what would you say about it?' They said: 'We would say that a great man died, or that a great man has been born.' The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: 'It is not shot due to the death of anyone, nor his coming into life. Rather when our Lord [Blessed is His Name and Most High] decrees a matter, He is glorified by the bearers of the Throne. Then He is glorified by the inhabitants who are below them, then those below them, until such glorification reaches this Heaven. Then the inhabitants of the sixth Heaven ask the inhabitants of the seventh Heaven: "What did your Lord say?" He said: 'So they inform them; then the inhabitants of each Heaven seek the information, until the news is conveyed to the inhabitants of the Heavens of the earth. The Shayatin try to overhear so they are shot at, so they cast it down to their friends. Whatever they came with is true, as it is, but they distort it and add to it
Source
Jāmiʿ at-Tirmidhī · 3224
- Ahmad Muhammad Shakir: Sahih
- Al-Albani: Sahih
- Bashar Awad Maarouf: Hasan Sahih
- Zubair Ali Zai: Sahih Muslim