in His very Essence (1). For any single act of this kind does not fall under the unrestricted heading of His attributes; rather, His being such that He acts whenever He wills—that is the attribute. The distinction between an attribute and an act is obvious, for the appearance of a new attribute or its disappearance would entail a change and transformation in the one described, bringing Him a fresh perfection after deficiency or a new deficiency after perfection. The same is true of the attributes (2) of all created beings when a subject acquires an attribute it did not previously possess—such as newly gained knowledge of what it did not know, or power over what it was formerly unable to do—and the like, or when (3) that attribute departs; an action, however, is different.
This is likewise affirmed by groups of theologians who opposed the Muʿtazilah and are closer to the Sunnah than they are—among them factions of the Murjiʾah, the Karrāmiyyah, and certain Shiʿah—just as they (4) report from the Karrāmiyyah, who say that contingent events, such as speech, will, hearing (5), and sight, occur within Him, while still declaring: “Allah has never ceased to be speaking.”
= Hujaj Adam and Moses (peace be upon them) – Hadith 15.
Besides this, there are numerous other explicit texts affirming that Allah created Adam with His hand. Al-Ajuri mentions some of these in his book al-Shariʿah (pp. 323–325), prefacing them with: “One says to the Jahmi who denies that Allah, Exalted and Glorious, created Adam with His hand: You have disbelieved in the Qur’an, rejected the Sunnah, and opposed the community.”
Ibn Mundhir (may Allah have mercy on him) devoted an entire chapter to this issue in his book al-Radd ʿala al-Jahmiyyah (pp. 68–72), entitled “Chapter on the mention of Allah’s statement, ‘What prevented you from prostrating to that which I created with My two hands’ [Qur’an 38:75].” He then explains: “He cited what is inferred from the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that Allah—Glorified and Exalted—literally created Adam (peace be upon him) with two hands.” He goes on to quote several of the hadiths transmitted on this subject.
(1) In the original manuscript: bidhālika. This reading is confirmed by MSS. S and T.
(2) In the original: sifah. The same reading is confirmed by MSS. S and T.
(3) In MS. S: aw zawāl.
(4) In MSS. S and T: naqalu.
(5) In MS. S: al-imtinaʿ.