be an attribute of His; rather, many created entities and the contingent qualities that belong to them are annexed to Him even though, by universal agreement, they are not among His attributes at all. Thus He says: “the House of Allah,” “the she-camel of Allah,” and “the servants of Allah”; the same applies to “the Spirit of Allah” according to the early Muslims, their leading scholars, and the majority of the community.

However, when what is annexed to Him is something that is intrinsically His attribute and cannot be an attribute of anyone else—such as the Speech of Allah, the Knowledge of Allah, the Hand of Allah, and the like—then it is indeed one of His attributes.

The Quran itself clarifies that the word janb (side) in this context is not meant to resemble the human side, for He says: “Lest any soul should say, ‘Alas for what I neglected with regard to the side of Allah’” ⦗al-Zumar: 56⦘. Negligence cannot attach to any of the attributes of Allah, Mighty and Majestic.

When people say, “So-and-so has fallen short with respect to the side of someone,” they do not mean that the negligence occurred in any physical part of that person; they mean that he failed in regard to that person and in fulfilling his due. If, even among created beings, the expression does not literally refer to the flank adjoining a person’s ribs—indeed, the negligence never touched him—how could anyone suppose that its apparent meaning, when applied to Allah, is that the negligence occurred in His Essence?

Moreover, the janb or jānib of something can denote its extremity or boundary; the human flank is called a janb in this respect. Concerning this, He, the Exalted, said: