denied, nor is any other meaning admissible. The same holds true in figurative usages. People say, ‘So-and-so is the face of his people.’ This does not mean the essence of those people, for their individual essences are certainly and unquestionably distinct from him. They also say, ‘This is the face of the cloth,’ meaning its finest part; ‘This is the face of the opinion,’ meaning its soundest and most correct aspect; and ‘I have conveyed the report in its proper form,’ meaning as it truly is. There are many similar expressions in which the word ‘face’ is used. Since this is the established usage in the language, this attribute, when applied to the Creator, Most High, must be understood according to the apparent meaning for which the word was coined: an attribute beyond what we designate by the word ‘Essence.’ This is clear and evident.”

He said:

“To explain and establish this argument: the face of Allah cannot be understood in the sense conveyed by the expression ‘the face of the people,’ meaning their chief, their spokesman, and the one singled out rather than them. Applying its equivalent to Allah would entail speaking of ‘Allah’s chief’ and ‘the one singled out,’ which is impossible in His case. Nor can it mean what is intended by the expression ‘This is the face of the cloth,’ namely, its most beautiful and finest part, for the reason already mentioned, and because this cannot be ascribed either to His Essence or to anything other than Him, since He, Most High, is not described in terms of beauty and fine quality. Nor can it mean what is intended by calling something ‘the face of an opinion,’ namely, its correctness, because Allah’s Essence is not an expression for the truthfulness of a report or the soundness of an opinion. Once these interpretations have been ruled out, it must be understood as affirming an attribute—the face—which belongs to one who is living.