man is a microcosm and a copy of the world, or that this may be among the implications of his having been created in the image of the Most Merciful, just as there is no dispute that he is a world in himself, powerful, living, and knowing. However, this cannot be what the hadith means, for several reasons.

First: His words, “When any of you fights, let him avoid the face, for Allah created Adam in His image,” indicate that having been created in the image of the Most Merciful is what prohibits striking him. Being in the image of the world, however, does not prohibit striking or fighting him, for the world itself contains bliss and torment, those who enjoy bliss and those who suffer torment, and the righteous and the wicked.

Second: His words, “Let none of you say, ‘May Allah disfigure your face and the face of anyone whose face resembles yours,’ for Allah created Adam in His image,” indicate that the face’s resemblance to the image is what prohibits invoking disfigurement upon someone whose face resembles it. It is well known that the world itself contains nothing specifically resembling the human face that would preclude reviling it—namely, a face resembling his.

Third: His being created as a copy of the world is not confined