The Saq of Allah does not mean “Shin (Body Part of Allah)”

Ibn ^Abbas Explains

Allah revealed in Surah Al-Qalam (S68), Ayah 42:

يَوْمَ يُكْشَفُ عَن سَاقٍ

yawma yukshafu ^an saq

It is very famously reported about Ibn ^Abbas, radiyAllahu ^anh, that Saq in this verse refers to “the severe afflictions of Judgement Day”.

The Apparent/Literal Meaning of Saq

The apparent meaning would be the organ composed of skin, muscle, bone, ligaments and marrow. If one took by this apparent meaning, adhered to it, and confirmed these organs then this is (clear-cut) kufr.

As for those who insist on it being a literal shin that is His Attribute, unsurprisingly, the famous word of an authority from the Salaf is meaningless to them. If a battle reached a very fierce point, it is said:

كشفت الحرب عن ساق

which means: “The battle exposed a saq.”

The Wahhabiyy Understanding of the Ayah

According to the Wahhabiyys this verse shows Allah has a shin. They say that Allah will expose and uncover His shin because to them it means “42. (Remember) the Day when the Shin shall be laid bare”. (So-Called “Translation of the meanings of the Noble Qur’an in the English Language” Page 777)

https://archive.org/details/EnglishTheHolyQuranTranslationByDarUsSalam/page/n789/mode/1up

Warning Against “So-Called Translations of the Quran”

Sahih International: The Day the shin will be uncovered and they are invited to prostration but the disbelievers will not be able,

Yusuf Ali: The Day that the shin shall be laid bare, and they shall be summoned to bow in adoration, but they shall not be able,-

Mohsin Khan: (Remember) the Day when the Shin shall be laid bare (i.e. the Day of Resurrection) and they shall be called to prostrate (to Allah), but they (hypocrites) shall not be able to do so,

Arberry: Upon the day when the leg shall be bared, and they shall be summoned to bow themselves, but they cannot;

Further Scans

Tafsir At-Tabariyy

Tafsir Al-Jalalayn

Tafsir Al-Baghawiyy

Al-Bahr Al-Muhit

Ibn Taymiyah’s Majmu^ Al-Fatawa

Al-Qamus Al-Muhit

Arabic-English Dictionaries

An Arabic-English Lexicon by Edward-William Lane

(Page 1471:) “… they mention the ساق when they mean to express the difficulty of a case or an event, and to tell of the terror occasioned thereby. (Ḳ, TA.) Thus, the saying يَوْمَ يُكْشَفُ عَنْ سَاقٍ, (Ṣ, Ḳ, TA,) in the Ḳur [lxviii. 42], (Ṣ, TA,) [lit. On a day when a shank shall be uncovered,] means † on a day when difficulty, or calamity, shall be disclosed. (I’Ab, Mujáhid, Ṣ, Ḳ, TA.) It is like the saying, قَامَتِ الحَرْبُ عَلَى سَاقٍ, (Ṣ, TA,) which means † The war, or battle, became vehement, (Mṣb in this art. and in art. حرب,) so that safety from destruction was difficult of attainment: (Id. in art. حرب: ) and كَشَفَتِ الحَرْبُ عَنْ سَاقٍ, [as also شَمَّرَتْ عَنْ سَاقِهَا,] i. e. † The war, or battle, became vehement. (Jel in lxviii. 42.)…”

http://lexicon.quranic-research.net/data/12_s/253_swq.html

Hans-Wehr 4th Edition

(Page 571: )

https://ejtaal.net/aa/#hw4=530,ll=1517,ls=5,la=2153,sg=537,ha=356,br=492,pr=82,aan=292,mgf=455,vi=200,kz=1177,mr=332,mn=679,uqw=828,umr=542,ums=456,umj=394,ulq=977,uqa=213,uqq=167,bdw=h460,amr=h327,asb=h483,auh=h789,dhq=h280,mht=h446,msb=h119,tla=h59,amj=h384,ens=h1,mis=h1032