On reviling the face, and the ḥadīth that Allah created Adam in his image

Answer

The ḥadīth is established from the Prophet ﷺ. He said: When one of you strikes, let him avoid the face, for Allah created Adam in his image. In another wording: in the image of al-Raḥmān. This does not entail tashbīh [resemblance to creation] or tamthīl [likening to creation].

The meaning, according to the people of knowledge, is that Allah created Adam hearing, seeing, and speaking when he wills. This is how Allah is described: He is All-Hearing, All-Seeing, and speaks when He wills, and He has a Face, Majestic and High. The meaning is not tashbīh or tamthīl. Rather, the image that belongs to Allah is not the image that belongs to the creature. The meaning is only that He is All-Hearing, All-Seeing, and speaks when He wills and whenever He wills, and that Allah likewise created Adam hearing and seeing, with a face, a hand and a foot. But hearing is not like hearing, sight is not like sight, and one who speaks is not like one who speaks. Rather, Allah has His attributes, Majestic and High, which befit His majesty and greatness, and the servant has his attributes, which befit him: attributes subject to perishing and deficiency. The attributes of Allah, Glory be to Him, are perfect, subject to no deficiency, cessation or perishing. That is why He, Mighty and Majestic, said: ﴿لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْبَصِيرُ﴾ "There is nothing like Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing" [al-Shūrā: 11], and He, Glory be to Him, said: ﴿وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ﴾ "And there is none comparable to Him" [al-Ikhlāṣ: 4]. So it is not permissible to strike the face, or to revile the face¹.