group of beasts or flying creatures that congregates, such as bees and others, without leaders who are obeyed. The angels are likewise, as Allah Most High says concerning Gabriel:

“Indeed, it is the word of a noble messenger (19), endowed with strength, established in rank with the Lord of the Throne (20), obeyed there and trustworthy (21).” [al-Takwīr 19–21]

Since this is so, leadership and kingship are not exclusive to Adam. Even if Adam’s descendants possess distinctions that others do not, the angels, too, are unlike Adam’s descendants. And even if Ahl al-Sunnah say that the prophets and saints are superior to the angels, they do not say that humankind as a whole is superior to the angels as a whole. Indeed, among Adam’s descendants are those who are worse than beasts.

Seventh: Kingship is one of Allah’s attributes, and it comes down to power, or to power together with knowledge and wisdom. This interpretation therefore falls within the interpretation of those who understand the image in the sense of attributes—namely knowledge and power. The numerous arguments invalidating that interpretation have already been presented, and all those arguments invalidate this interpretation with even greater force.