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nor could the Arabs have understood its meanings when they heard it. Since those unfamiliar with Arabic cannot understand it, whereas the Arabs understand it when they hear it, it is clear that they understood it because it was revealed in their own language.
He said: Someone has argued on the basis of Allah’s words, Mighty and Majestic:
“We built the heaven with strength.” [al-Dhāriyāt 47]
He asserted: “Al-aydī means strength, so His words ‘with My two Hands’ must mean ‘by My power.’”
They are told: This interpretation is invalid for several reasons. First, ayd is not the plural of yad (“hand”), for the plural of yad is aydī, while the plural of yad in the sense of a favor is ayādī. Allah, Mighty and Majestic, did not
ولا أن تعرف العرب معانيه إذا سمعته فلما كان من لايحسن كلام العرب لا يحسنه وإنما يعرفه العرب إذا سمعوه علم أنهم علموه لأنه بلسانهم نزل قال وقد اعتل معتل بقول الله عز وجل وَالسَّمَاء بَنَيْنَاهَا بِأَيْدٍ
[الذاريات ٤٧]
قال الأيدي القوة فوجب أن يكون معنى قوله بيدي أي بقدرتي قيل لهم هذا التأويل فاسد من وجوه أحدها أن الأيد ليس بجمع اليد لأن جمع يد أيدي وجمع اليد التي هي نعمة أيادي والله عز وجل لم