goes about creating as I create.’ In other words, no one is more unjust than such a person. So let them create a single grain, or a single speck, or a single barley kernel. If they are truthful in their claim that they can rival Allah’s creation, let them produce one grain of food—let it be a kernel of wheat. Were every inhabitant of the earth, indeed even those of the heavens, to join forces to create a single grain of wheat, they would never succeed. Even if they were to shape some dough so that it perfectly resembled a kernel, they could never make it an actual seed; plant it, and it would never sprout, because it is not alive. If a human being cannot create a wheat grain, or a barley grain, or even the tiniest particle—examples chosen precisely for their smallness—then producing anything larger is all the more impossible. This is clear proof that making such images is forbidden.

Keeping images and bringing them into the house is likewise forbidden, for the angels do not enter a house in which there is an image or a dog. And what do you think of a house the angels refuse to enter? It is a house of ill fortune. If there is an image or a dog inside, the angels will not enter.

An exception is made for images that necessity requires, such as those stamped on coins—on the dirham and the dinar—as is the case today with our banknotes that bear the portraits of kings. The address here concerns the one who placed the image; the general public are not held accountable. What are ordinary people to do—throw away their coins and their spending money? Allah does not burden any soul beyond its capacity. Moreover, the angels do not refrain from entering a house simply because it contains money, even though the coins bear images.

In earlier times, coins had images that were even more pronounced than those found today, for today’s images are nothing more than colored ink. You have already learned that the scholars differ regarding whether such colored depictions fall under the threatened punishment or not, but