and His words:

“They will say to their skins, ‘Why did you testify against us?’ They will say, ‘Allah, who causes all things to speak, has caused us to speak.’” [Fussilat 21]

Likewise, they interpreted all the exchanges involving Munkar and Nakīr, the Balance and the Reckoning, the debates between the people of Hell and the people of Paradise, and their words, ‘Pour upon us some water or some of what Allah has provided you.’ They claimed that all this conveyed the language of their condition rather than actual speech.”

He said: “Others, including Ahmad ibn Hanbal, went to extremes: he even forbade figurative interpretation of the words of Allah Most High, ‘Be, and it is’ (117). They claimed that this is an address consisting of letters and sound that comes from Allah Most High at every instant, repeated as many times as there are things brought into being. I even heard one of his followers say that he had closed the door to figurative interpretation except for three expressions: the Prophet’s statement, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, ‘The Black Stone is Allah’s right hand