As for his statement that “the gates” is an instance of apposition of inclusion, he and others have explicitly stated that such apposition requires a pronoun, although others have disputed this requirement. The pronoun may, however, be either expressed or understood. Here it is not expressed, so it must be supplied: “the gates thereof.” If the implied wording is “opened for them are they—the gates thereof,” this requires more implied pronouns, whereas fewer are preferable.

[Sūrah Sād (38): Verse 75]

“He said, ‘O Iblis, what prevented you from prostrating to what I created with My two hands? Were you arrogant, or were you among the exalted?’” (75)

The word “hand” occurs in the Quran in three forms: singular, dual, and plural. The singular occurs in His words, 68:1 “in whose hand is dominion”; the dual in “I created with My two hands”; and the plural in “what Our hands have made.”

Where He mentions the hands in the dual, He attributes the act to Himself using a singular pronoun and connects the verb to the two hands through the preposition bā’ (“with”), saying, “I created with My two hands.” Where He mentions them in the plural, He attributes the act to them and does not connect the verb through bā’.

These, then, are three differences. Thus, “I created with My two hands” does not admit the figurative sense that “what Our hands have made” admits. Everyone understands “what Our hands have made” to mean what is conveyed by “We made” and “We created,” just as this is understood from His words, “because of what your hands have earned.” But in His words, “I created with My two hands,” if nothing more than the act itself were intended, mentioning the hand after already attributing the act to its agent would serve no purpose. How much more so when the preposition bā’ is used? And how much more so when the dual form is used?

The underlying distinction is that an act may be attributed to someone’s hand while the intended attribution is to the person himself, as in His words, “because of what your two hands have sent ahead” and “because of what your hands have earned.” When, however, the act is attributed to the person himself and then connected through bā’ to the hand, whether in the singular or the dual, it is something his hand performed directly.