better in exegesis or more perfect in exposition than the speech of Allah, exalted is He. For this reason He Himself has called it “a clear exposition” (bayān) and has declared that He made it easy for remembrance. That ease of remembrance comprises several kinds of facilitation:

1 : the facilitation of its wording for memorization;

2 : the facilitation of its meanings for comprehension;

3 : the facilitation of its commands and prohibitions for practical compliance.²

It is self-evident that if it were couched in expressions the addressee could not understand, it would not be easy for him but rather burdensome. Likewise, if the addressee were required to extract from its words meanings they do not convey—or even meanings contrary to what they actually convey—this would be one of the severest forms of hardship³ and is utterly at odds with the notion of ease. Nothing could be more difficult for the community than to be told that from such texts as “Say: He, Allah, is One” (Al-Ikhlāṣ 112:1), the Prophet’s saying, “Do not prefer me over Jonah son of Mattā,”⁴ and the verse, “Those who bear the Throne and those around it proclaim the praise of their Lord and believe in Him” (Ghāfir 40:7), they must understand that the Exalted is neither inside the universe nor outside it, neither connected to it nor separate from it, neither distinct from it nor contiguous to it; that He cannot be seen with the eyes in reality; and that He possesses neither face nor hand. They would then have to strain themselves, enduring the greatest hardship in the quest⁵ for every manner of far-fetched metaphor, elaborate figurative expression, and obscure idiom.