Of a statement like this, one cannot say, “Its apparent meaning is that Allah falls ill, so it requires reinterpretation.” When wording is accompanied by something that clarifies its meaning, that clarified meaning is its apparent meaning. The same applies to general wording accompanied by an exception, a limit, or a qualification, as in His saying:

“He remained among them a thousand years, less fifty years.” [al-ʿAnkabūt: 14]

And His saying:

“Fasting for two consecutive months.” [al-Nisā’: 92]

And similar examples. Everyone agrees that the apparent meaning in these cases is not a full thousand years, nor simply two months regardless of whether they are separate or consecutive.

As for the statement, “The Black Stone is Allah’s right hand on earth,” first of all, it is not an authentic hadith established from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, so we need not discuss it under this heading.

Yet these people combine authentic hadiths with many fabricated reports and maintain that all of them must be reinterpreted. This is what Bishr al-Marīsī, Muhammad ibn Shujāʿ al-Thaljī, and Abū Bakr ibn Fūrak did, the latter in his book Mushkil al-Hadīth (Difficult Passages in Hadith). They even reinterpret the report about horses’ sweat and similar fabrications.