The Reality of Attributing Will to the Wall

Moses and Khiḍr, in their journey, came upon a wall in that village that was about to collapse: “Then they found in it a wall about to collapse.” The term “collapse” (inqiḍāḍ) means to fall down. Some scholars, like al-Sharīf al-Raḍī, considered the attribution of will to the wall as metaphorical, deeming it incorrect to literally attribute will to inanimate objects.(325) However, it should be said that attributing “will” to the wall in the phrase “about to collapse” is literal—not metaphorical—and indicates the wall’s consciousness. This means that Khiḍr and Moses saw a wall in that village whose foundations had weakened and was about to collapse. Interpreting “the wall’s will” metaphorically would mean interpreting the Qur’an based on ordinary literature, whereas the Qur’an has its own unique language and culture.(326) For a wall that glorifies, praises, and submits to the Truth, the expression “wants to” (yurīdu) should be understood in its literal sense, and the attribution of will to the wall is real, not metaphorical.

The point is that several verses of the Qur’an indicate that the entirety of creation glorifies its Creator, and on this basis, there is no reason to interpret this attribution metaphorically.