face he cursed, whereupon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade him to say, ‘and the face of anyone whose face resembles yours’”—we say to him: No man being struck was previously mentioned in what you narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), nor does his wording mention one. Rather, he said: “When one of you fights, let him avoid the face, for Allah created Adam in His image.” He did not say, “When one of you fights someone,” or, “When he strikes someone.”

You cited the other hadith through the narration of al-Layth ibn Sa‘d, whose wording is: “Let none of you say, ‘May Allah disfigure your face and any face resembling yours,’ for Allah created Adam in His image.” Here, no man is mentioned to whom the pronoun could refer.

If it is objected that a pronoun may refer to something implied by the wording even though it is not explicitly mentioned, as in the Most High’s statement:

“Let not those who are miserly with what Allah has given them of His bounty think that it is good for them.” [Āl ‘Imrān 180]

Here, “it” means miserliness, since the verb “are miserly” indicates the verbal noun “miserliness.” Another example is the poet’s words: