Adam in his image”—that is, without these intermediaries. The purpose is to refute the philosophers.

Fourth: The purpose is to explain that this human form came into being through Allah’s creation and His bringing it into existence, not through the formative and generative faculties, as physicians and philosophers maintain. Hence Allah Most High says:

“He is Allah, the Creator, the Originator, the Fashioner.” [Al-Hashr 24]

He is the Creator—that is, the One who knows the states of all possible and originated things. The Originator is the One who brings bodies and entities into existence after their nonexistence. The Fashioner is the One who arranges those entities into their particular forms and compositions.

Fifth: The word sūrah (image or form) may also denote an attribute. One says, “I explained to him the nature of this incident,” or, “I described to him the nature of this issue.” In all these instances, sūrah denotes a description. Thus, his statement, “Allah created Adam in his image,” means that He created him with all his attributes and states. And … this is because, when a human being first comes into existence, he is utterly ignorant and powerless; then he continues to