I say: How brazen you are in your deceit, misrepresentation, and lying! Ibn al-Qayyim—may Allah have mercy on him—is far too eminent, distinguished, and noble to be guilty of what you have falsely accused him of.

He—may Allah have mercy on him—said:

“Sixth: One may ask: Where in the apparent meaning of the Quran is there any affirmation of a single side as an attribute of Allah? It is well known that no human being affirms this. Those most emphatic in affirming the divine attributes are the people of the Sunnah and hadith, yet they do not affirm that Allah Most High has a single side or a single shin.

‘Uthmān ibn Sa‘īd al-Dārimī said in his refutation of al-Marīsī: The opponent falsely alleges that certain people, when interpreting Allah Most High’s words, ‘Alas for my neglect of my duty towards Allah!’, understand ‘side’ to mean a bodily part. It is not as they imagine.

Al-Dārimī said: This opponent should be told: How lightly you regard lying, and how readily it slips off your tongue! If your claim is true, point to a single human being who has said this. Otherwise, why do you malign with lies people who know this interpretation better than you and have greater insight into the meaning of Allah’s Book than you and your imam? Their interpretation is simply that the disbelievers regret having neglected faith and the virtues that call one to Allah Himself, choosing disbelief and mockery instead. Who, then, told you that they meant a side in the bodily sense? This meaning is familiar even to many ordinary Muslims, let alone their scholars.

Abū Bakr al-Siddīq—may Allah be pleased with him—said: ‘Lying is incompatible with faith.’ Ibn Mas‘ūd—may Allah be pleased with him—said: ‘Lying is not permissible, whether in earnest or in jest.’ Al-Sha‘bī said: ‘Whoever is a liar is a hypocrite.’ Neglect is either an act or an omission. This cannot inhere in Allah Himself, whether in a side or otherwise; rather, it is separate1 from Allah Most High, as is known through sense perception and observation.”