The first category is illustrated by His words:

“Allah’s she-camel and her share of water.”

And His words:

“Then We sent to her Our spirit”—namely Gabriel—“and he appeared before her as a man in perfect form.”

“She said, ‘I seek refuge in the Most Merciful from you, if you fear Allah.’”

“He said, ‘I am only a messenger from your Lord, to grant you a pure son.’”

He also said:

“And Mary, daughter of ‘Imrān, who guarded her chastity, and We breathed into her of Our spirit.”

And He said concerning Adam:

“When I have fashioned him and breathed into him of My spirit, fall down before him in prostration.”

The second category is illustrated by our expressions: Allah’s knowledge, Allah’s speech, Allah’s power, Allah’s life, and Allah’s command. However, a verbal noun may be used to denote the object of the action: what is known may be called “knowledge”; what is brought about by power, “power”; what is commanded, a “command”; and what is created by the word, a “word.” In such cases, what is denoted is created.

Examples include His words:

“The command of Allah has come, so do not seek to hasten it.”

And His words:

“Allah gives you glad tidings of a word from Him, whose name is the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, honoured in this world and the Hereafter.”

And His words:

“The Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, was only Allah’s Messenger, and His word which He conveyed to Mary, and a spirit from Him.”

Also in this category is the saying:

“When Allah created mercy, He created it in one hundred portions. He sent down one portion and kept ninety-nine with Himself. When the Day of Resurrection comes, He will join this one to those and show mercy to His servants through them.”

Another example is His statement to Paradise in the authentic hadith:

“You are My mercy; through you I show mercy to whomever I will among My servants.”

Likewise, He said to the Fire:

“You are My punishment; through you I punish whomever I will. Each of you will have its fill.”