Third: If that were intended, there would be no distinction between the face and the other limbs regarding the prohibition against striking them or invoking disfigurement upon them. For Adam’s having been created with the distinctive quality of kingship does not pertain to one limb rather than another.

Fourth: His being a king does not mean that he should be spared punishment when he sins. If that were permissible, kings among Adam’s descendants would be exempt from punishment for their evil deeds.

Fifth: Being created in the image of a king is not something common to all Adam’s descendants. Some are suited to kingship, while others are suited only to being slaves. Indeed, some are more astray than beasts, as Allah Most High says:

“And We have certainly created for Hell many of the jinn and mankind. They have hearts with which they do not understand, they have eyes with which they do not see, and they have ears with which they do not hear. Those are like livestock; rather, they are more astray. It is they who are the heedless.” (179) [al-A‘rāf 179]

Since this is so, and the prohibition against striking the face or invoking disfigurement upon it applies to all human beings, whereas kingship and preeminence are not common to all, it is clear that these are not what is intended by his words, “in His image.”

Sixth: Kingship is not exclusive to human beings. Among the various kinds of beasts, too, there are leaders who are obeyed and subordinates who obey. For there is no