Nor do I know of any scholar who understood “waist” in its ordinary, literal linguistic sense. Rather, it means seeking refuge in Him and holding fast to Him, likening this to someone who clings to the rope of a mighty person and seeks the protection of one possessed of authority and power. Similarly, it is related: “Majesty is Allah’s cloak.”

He said: This category does not, in reality, belong among the attributes. Its expressions, however, resemble those used for the attributes in their wording. It therefore needed to be explained, to distinguish those expressions that denote actual attributes from those that do not.

Another example of this is Allah Most High’s saying:

“Lest a soul should say, ‘Oh, how great is my regret over what I neglected in my duty towards Allah!’” [Al-Zumar 56]

I know of no Muslim scholar who has not interpreted “side” figuratively in this verse. Nor have I heard any of them take it literally or understand it to mean a side of His very being. Rather, they interpreted it in terms of nearness and empowerment. Al-Farrā’ said that “side” means the greater part of something, as when a man says: