and the words of ‘Urwah ibn Mas‘ūd to Abū Bakr on the day of al-Hudaybiyah:

“Were it not for a favor you did me, which I have not yet repaid, I would have answered you.”

“Hand” may also mean power, naming a thing after what causes it, since power moves the hand. People say, “So-and-so has a hand in such-and-such.” Another example is what “Ziyād” said to Mu‘āwiyah: “I have held Iraq with one of my hands, while my other hand remains free.” He meant that controlling Iraq’s affairs took half his power.

Another example is His saying:

“In whose hand is the marriage tie.”

Marriage is contracted through spoken words; the meaning is simply that he has authority over it.

They may also attribute an action to the hand to attribute it to the person himself. Since most actions are performed with the hand, mentioning the hand came to indicate that someone performed an action himself. Allah Most High says:

“Allah has certainly heard the words of those who said, ‘Allah is poor, while we are rich’”

—down to His words—

“That is for what your hands have sent forth.”

That is, what you yourselves have sent forth, for some of what they sent forth consisted of words they spoke. Likewise, Allah Most High says:

“If only you could see when the angels take the souls of those who disbelieve, striking their faces and their backs”

—down to His words—

“That is for what your hands have sent forth.”

The Arabs say, “Your own hands tied it, and your own mouth inflated it,” rebuking anyone who brings trouble upon himself, because this was first said to someone who had acted with his own hands and mouth.

(I said to him:

We do not deny any of these usages in the Arabic language in which the Quran was revealed. Those who figuratively interpreted the divine attributes, distorting words from their proper places and deviating concerning His names and signs, interpreted His saying:

“Rather, both His Hands are outstretched,”

and His saying:

“What I created with My two Hands,”

along these lines