one would speak of “Allah’s hand,” “Allah’s face,” “His foot,” and the like, on the grounds that Allah created each of them.

The fourth point is that his statement, “When any of you fights, let him avoid the face, for Allah created Adam in His image,” would—if the ascription denoted creation and ownership—require that no bodily part be struck, since every part is equally Allah’s creation and property, just as the face is.

The fifth point is that this face being struck is, in being created and owned by Allah, on the same footing as the image owned by Allah. If striking this face were forbidden on that account, the comparison would be pointless, since the rationale is present in the object of comparison. It would be like someone saying to one of his two sons, “I have only honoured you because you are like my other son in being a son,” or saying to his slave, “I have only given to you because you are like my other slave in being a slave,” though both share that status.

The sixth point is that everything that is struck or reviled is known to be created and owned by Allah. This would entail that no created being may be struck or reviled.