The ninth argument: Refuting the specific interpretations he mentioned.

As for his statement under the first interpretation—that He did not alter Adam’s created form or transform it as He transformed others, such as the serpent and the peacock, and that it was therefore said, “He created Adam in Adam’s image”—the reply is: The customary way to express this meaning is to say, “He preserved Adam’s form,” “He left his form unchanged,” or “He did not alter Adam’s form.” One does not say, “He created him in his own image,” because this expression is not used to convey such a meaning.

Do you not see that when Allah transformed some of the Children of Israel, such as those to whom He said, “Be apes, despised,” as He said, “And made some of them apes and swine” [al-Mā’idah 60], and saved those who forbade wrongdoing, then