among the Muslim community on conveying it and affirming its truth. Doubts arose concerning the hadith only because its wording was separated into parts. Among its well-known wordings are:

“When one of you fights, let him avoid striking the face, for Allah created Adam in his image.”

“None of you should say, ‘May Allah disfigure your face and the face of anyone whose face resembles yours,’ for Allah created Adam in his image.”

This contains a practical ruling needed by jurists, as well as the second, declarative clause relating to bi-lā. Many jurists narrated only the first clause—“So, when one of you fights, let him avoid the face”—without mentioning the second. Most scholars of foundational principles and speculative theology, meanwhile, narrate only the second clause—“Allah created Adam in his image”—without mentioning the prescriptive clause.