And He says:

“Even if We had mercy on them and removed their affliction, they would persist in their transgression, wandering blindly.” (75) [al-Mu’minūn 75]

Given that the familiar Arabic expression is “He lifted the hardship,” meaning that He removed it, the wording of the verse is “a shin will be uncovered.” This signifies disclosure and manifestation, as in His words, “We removed from them.” Moreover, hardship arises then, and He does not remove it; thus hardship is not lifted on the Day of Resurrection. Yet this apparent meaning does not arise from the word “shin” alone, but from the construction, the context, and reflection on the intended meaning.

The seventh point: His claim that the apparent meaning of the Quran is that Allah has many Eyes and many Hands is false. For although He has said:

“Sailing under Our Eyes” [al-Qamar 14],

and has said:

“Build the ark under Our Eyes and by Our revelation” [Hūd 37],

and has said:

“Be patient with your Lord’s judgment, for you are under Our Eyes” [al-Tūr 48],

and has said:

“Have they not seen that We created for them, from what Our Hands have made” [Yā Sīn 71],

He has also said in the account of Moses:

“And so that you might be brought up under My Eye, (39) when your sister went and said, ‘Shall I direct you to someone who will care for him?’” [Tā Hā 39-40]

Thus this has occurred in the singular form in two places. His claim that the apparent meaning is multiplicity because the plural form is used is therefore no more justified than someone else’s claim that the apparent meaning is singularity because it has