Him.”
The apparent meaning of this hadith is not that Allah has a waist-wrapper and a cloak of the same kind as those people wear, made from livestock hides or fabrics such as cotton and linen. Rather, the hadith explicitly rules out this false meaning. If someone were to say of one of Allah’s servants that greatness was his waist-wrapper and majesty his cloak, the very fact that he was speaking of greatness and majesty—which are neither of the nature of what covers livestock’s backs nor of clothing—would make it clear and evident that greatness and majesty were not meant to be a waist-wrapper and a cloak in this sense.
If, then, this false meaning is not apparent when a created being is described in these terms, because the wording itself precludes it and makes the true meaning clear, how can anyone claim that it is the apparent meaning of the wording when applied to Allah Most High? Everyone addressed knows that the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, did not describe Him as wearing cloaks and garments of cotton and linen, which are needed to ward off heat and cold and cover the private parts. This is more absurd than the claim of someone who alleges that his statement, “Indeed, Khālid