Whenever they can conjure up an escape of this sort, they declare the report acceptable; but when no such outlet exists, they still relate it, search feverishly for a way around it, brand its transmitters as liars, and pay no heed to whether the ḥadīth is sound or weak. Hence they believed in sayings such as the Prophet’s—peace and blessings be upon him—“The heart of the believer is between two fingers of the All-Merciful,” because, in their view, the wording allowed a linguistic loophole. They claimed that “finger” means a favor or blessing, citing the poet al-Rāʿī:

A frail-staffed, vein-showing man—you see upon him,
when drought befalls the people, a ‘finger’;

i.e., you see on him a goodly trace.

They also adduce al-Tufayl’s description of a camel stallion:

A chestnut, like a newborn tusk, whose bite revived them—
he ended their barrenness and left on them a ‘finger.’

He means that when this stud covered the she-camels their offspring lived, whereas before they had been barren and no calf survived. The phrase “left on them a finger” signifies that the good effects of lush pasture became visible on them.

Similarly, the Arabs say: “How fine So-and-so’s finger is upon his wealth.”

Yet anyone who ponders this interpretation will find it incompatible with the remainder of the Prophet’s statement in the same ḥadīth. For he said in his supplication, “O Turner of hearts, make my heart firm upon Your religion,” whereupon one of his wives asked, “Messenger of God, do you fear for yourself?” He replied, “The heart of the believer is between two fingers of God.” If the believer’s heart were truly between two of God’s blessings, it would already be safeguarded by those two favors—so why would he pray for steadfastness? And he did not