Literalism

Ibn al-Jawzi wrote about people who acted on the apparent wordings of religious scriptures, instead of its meanings:

فأخذوه هم على الظاهر، فكانوا في ضرب المثل كجحا، فإن أمه قالت له: احفظ الباب، فقلعه ومشى به، فأخذ ما في الدار، فلامته أمه. فقال: إنما قلت احفظ الباب، وما قلت احفظ الدار.

“… So they took them upon their apparent sense.
Their similitude is like that of Juha, when his mother told him: “Keep an eye on the door.” (when she was leaving).
He pulled the door out of the wall and walked around with it (so he could keep looking at the door).
Their house got robbed!
His mother scolded him, but he responded: “You said: ‘Keep an eye on the door’. You did not say: ‘Keep an eye on the house!”

[“Saydul Al-Khatir”, 1/37].