such that they use their left hands for everything considered objectionable—as when a person handles impurities and filth with his left hand—the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, made clear that both of the Lord’s right hands are blessed, without any deficiency or defect whatsoever such as is found in the attributes of created beings. Nevertheless, the right hand is the superior of the two, as in the hadith concerning Adam, who said:

“I have chosen my Lord’s right hand, and both my Lord’s hands are blessed right hands.”

There is no deficiency in His attributes and nothing blameworthy in His acts. Rather, all His acts are either acts of bounty or acts of justice.

In the two Sahīh collections, Abū Mūsā reports that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“Allah’s right hand is full; no expenditure diminishes it, as it pours forth night and day. Have you considered how much He has spent since He created the heavens and the earth? It has not diminished what is in His right hand. Justice is in His other hand; He raises and lowers.”

Thus, he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, made clear that bounty is in His right hand and justice in His other hand. It is well known that, although both His hands are right hands, bounty is higher than justice. Every mercy from Him, glory be to Him, is bounty, and every punishment from Him is justice; His mercy is superior to His punishment. For this reason, those who act justly will be on pulpits of light to the right of the Most Merciful, not beside His other hand. Placing them to the right of the Most Merciful is an honour bestowed upon them, just as in the Quran He favours the people of the right hand and those of the right side over the companions of the left hand and those of the left side, even though He punishes the latter only in accordance with His justice. Likewise, the hadiths and transmitted reports state that those in the grasp of His right hand are the blessed, while those in the grasp of His other hand are the wretched.