is one of Allah’s swords, which He has drawn against the polytheists,” apparently means that Khālid is made of iron. It is also more absurd than claiming that his statement about a horse, “We found it to be a veritable sea,” apparently means that the horse is a great body of water. There are many similar examples.

Since this false meaning is not the apparent meaning of the hadith—indeed, the hadith’s explicit wording, which is stronger than a merely apparent meaning, rules it out—his claim is invalid.

There remains the question of expressing these two attributes by attributing a cloak and a waist-wrapper to Him. Addressing this is unnecessary for refuting his claim, but it offers further benefit. Al-Khattābī and others have said that the meaning is: “These two attributes belong exclusively to Me, just as a person’s waist-wrapper and cloak belong exclusively to him; it is therefore not fitting for anyone to contend with Me over them.”

This is a summary statement. Explaining it fully requires recognizing that the nature of clothing is appropriate to whatever it is attributed to. Thus, in the case of human beings, mention is made of