‘Let the texts stand as they have come,’ while maintaining that the figurative sense is what is truly meant—something the Arabs themselves do not understand—so that the sons of Persia and Byzantium should end up more knowledgeable of the Arabic tongue than the sons of the Muhājirūn and the Anṣār!

Fourth Station

I said to him, “I shall cite for you unmistakable, decisive, and manifest proofs that show Allah genuinely possesses two hands.

“One such proof is His favouring of Adam, which obliged the angels to prostrate before him and forbade them to act proudly toward him. Had the intended meaning merely been that He created him by His power, by His grace, or that He simply attributed his creation to Himself, then Iblīs and every other creature would share in that distinction.

“He replied, ‘A thing can be ascribed to Allah as an honour, as in His words, “the she-camel of Allah” (Ash-Shams 13) and “the House of Allah.”’

“I answered, ‘An attribution is not honorific unless the thing attributed contains a quality that singles it out from all others. Had that she-camel and that House possessed no clear signs that distinguish them from every other camel and house, they would not have merited that attribution. The same holds true here: when Allah attributes Adam’s creation to Himself—namely, that He created him with His two hands—this necessitates that He actually fashioned him with His two hands, whereas He created the rest by His command, “Be,” and it comes to pass, exactly as the reports state.

“Another indication lies in Arabic usage: when they say, ‘in his hand is the dominion,’ or, ‘your hands wrought it,’ two matters are involved. First is the affirmation of a hand; second is the attribution of sovereignty or action to that hand. The second is often figurative, but the first they never employ except for one who truly has a hand; they would never say, ‘the hand of passion’ or ‘the hand of water.’ Even if one concedes that His statement, ‘in His hand is the dominion,’ is understood to mean ‘in His power,’ such figurative speech is employed only for someone who actually possesses a real hand.

“As for the difference between His words, ‘whom I created with My two hands’ (Ṣād 75) and His words, ‘from what Our hands have made—livestock’ (Yā-Sīn 71), it is twofold:

“First, in the former He attributes the act directly to Himself and explicitly states that He created him with His two hands, whereas in the latter He attributes the act to the hands.

“Second, it is part of Arabic idiom to use the plural in place of the dual when no confusion will arise, as in His words, ‘As for the thief, male and female, cut off their hands’ (Al-Mā’idah 38)—meaning their two hands—and His words, ‘your hearts inclined’ (Al-Taḥrīm 4)—meaning your two hearts. The same applies to His saying, ‘from what Our hands have made—livestock.’

“As for the Sunnah, the proofs are exceedingly numerous, such as the Messenger of Allah’s—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—statement: ‘The just will be with…’”