a reward which Allah Most High, by His power, fashions into the form of a man to bring glad tidings to the believers. For if the Quran had a form like that of a human being, it could not divide into more than a million forms and come to more than a million people as an intercessor and an accuser. When a single form comes to one person, it is absent from others. This is readily understood; none but the utterly ignorant fail to grasp it.”

He said: “This is like the hadith narrated by al-A‘mash, from al-Minhāl, from Zādhān, from al-Barā’ ibn ‘Āzib, from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him: when a man dies, his righteous deeds come to him in the form of a man with the finest appearance, the finest clothing, and the sweetest fragrance. He asks him, ‘Who are you?’ He replies, ‘I am your righteous deeds. They were good, and so you see me