In another narration from Hudhayfa: “Every believer, whether literate or illiterate, will be able to read it” (1).
This writing is real and is to be understood literally (2). There is no difficulty in some people seeing it while others do not, or in an illiterate person being able to read it: “Allah creates visual perception in His servant however and whenever He wills. Thus, the believer will see it with his physical sight even if he cannot read, whereas the unbeliever will not see it even if he can read—just as the believer perceives the proofs with the eye of spiritual insight, while the unbeliever does not. Allah will therefore create perception in the believer without any learning, for the normal course of events will be suspended at that time” (3).
Al-Nawawī said: “The correct position, upheld by the critical scholars, is that this writing is to be understood literally and that it is real writing. Allah has made it one of the signs and indications that conclusively establish his unbelief, mendacity, and falsehood. Allah Most High will make it visible to every Muslim, whether literate or illiterate, and will conceal it from whomever He wills to be wretched and put to trial. There is nothing impossible about this” (4).
- Another of his characteristics is mentioned in the hadith of Fātima bint Qays—may Allah be pleased with her—concerning the story of al-Jassāsa. In it, Tamīm—may Allah be pleased with him—said: “We hurried onward until we entered the monastery, where we found the largest man we had ever seen and the most tightly bound” (5).