Understanding the Glorious Quran The Muhkamat ayat and Mutashabihat ayat The Muhkam Ayah: A verse that has one clear meaning. Like {Laysa Kamithlihi Shay} The Mutashabih Ayah: A verse that can have many meanings. Like: {Allahu Nurus-Samawati wal-Ard} Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds, Who does not resemble the creation. To Him belong the endowments and the befitting perfections and commendations. I ask Allah to raise the rank of Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, and to protect his nation from that which he fears for them. Thereafter: Allah said in the Quran: Surat Al-^Imran, ayah 7 means: [Allah is the One Who has sent down to the Prophet the Book that contains muhkamat ayat, which are the foundation of the Book, and other ayat which are mutashabihat.] So, know firmly, that the Quran contains two types of ayat: Muhkamat Ayat (verses) and Mutashabihat Ayat Muhkamat ayat: These are the ayat that have only one meaning according to the rules of the Arabic language or else the meaning of the ayah is clearly known. Examples of this type of ayat are: the saying of Allah, ta^ala: Suratash-Shura,ayah 11 means: [There is nothing like Him] Suratash-Shura,ayah 11 means: [Absolutely there is nothing like Him] and His saying, ta^ala: Suratal-Ikhlas, ayah 4 means: [There is nothing which is equal to Him], and His saying, ta^ala: SuratMaryam,ayah 65 means: [Do you know of anything which is similar to Him? There is none.] Surat Maryam,ayah 65 means: [Do you know of anything which is similar to Him? There is none.] Mutashabihat ayat: These are the ayat that can have many meanings according to the rules of the Arabic language. Assigning meanings to these ayat requires thorough thinking so that acceptable meanings are given to them. Examples of this type of ayat are: the saying of Allah, ta^ala, in Surat Taha, ayah 5: and His saying, ta^ala, in Surat Fatir, ayah 10: SuratFatir,ayah 10: According to the rules of the Arabic language, these ayat are mutashabihat; so they can have many meanings. If meanings are assigned to them, this must be done in a manner that complies with the language and the Religion, and does not contradict the ayat that are muhkamat. Surely the ayat of the Quran do not contradict one another. Likewise, the ahadith (sayings of the Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam,) do not contradict one another, and they do not contradict the ayat of the Quran. There are two methodologies for explaining the mutashabihat ayat of the Quran, and both of them are valid: The Methodology of the Salaf The Methodology of the Khalaf The Methodology of the Salaf: The Salaf were the scholars who lived during the first three centuries after the Hijrah of the Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam. For the most part, this methodology consisted of giving general explanations, since the scholars of the Salaf believed that these ayat have meanings befitting to the perfection of Allah. Rather than saying what these meanings are, they referred these mutashabihat ayat to the muhkamat ayat. A good example is the saying of Imam ash-Shafi^iyy: which means: I believe in what Allah revealed according to the meaning that Allah willed, and in what the Messenger of Allah conveyed according to the meaning that the Messenger of Allah willed. In other words, the proper befitting meanings are not according to the sensuous and physical meanings that delusions would lead to--such as places, shapes, limbs, movements, sitting, colors, directions, smiling, laughter, or any other meanings which are not permissible to be attributed to Allah. Furthermore, the Arabs during these three centuries spoke the Arabic language with a natural disposition and great eloquence. Their understanding of its meanings was so sharp that they did not need to attribute specific meanings to the mutashabihat ayat. Instead, they understood that these ayat have meanings that befit Allah, and that it is impossible that they would have sensuous and physical meanings that do not befit Allah. Nevertheless, it is well known that some of the scholars of the Salaf did attribute specific meanings to mutashabihat ayat. In his Sahih, in the chapter Tafsirul-Quran (the explanation of the Quran,) Imam al-Bukhariyy attributed a specific meaning to the term illa wajhahu in Surat alQasas, ayah 88. He said, illa mulkahu, i.e., he said that word wajh--which is an attribute of Allah--means Mulk or Dominion. The Methodology of the Khalaf: The Khalaf were the scholars who lived after the first three centuries. For the most part, this methodology consisted of giving specific meanings to the mutashabihat ayat. The scholars of the Khalaf lived at a time when the people started to lose their natural disposition for the Arabic language. Seeing that the people had become weaker in the language, the scholars of the Khalaf feared that those with perversity in their hearts would read meanings into the mutashabihat ayat that do not befit Allah. They feared what is mentioned in SuratAl ^Imran, ayah 7. Allah said: which means: [Those who have perversity in their hearts, they follow the mutashabihat ayat seeking discord and searching for unbefitting meanings based on their delusions.] In order to protect the creed of Islam, the scholars of the Khalaf followed the example of those scholars among the Salaf who chose to give specific meanings to the mutashabihat ayat. Referring them to the muhkamat ayat, they gave specific meanings to the mutashabihat ayat in compliance with the language and the Religion. They gave correct, acceptable meanings to the mutashabihat ayat. Allah said: Ayah 7 in Surat Al-^Imran means: [No one knows their true meanings except Allah and those who are firmly rooted in the knowledge of the Religion.The latter say, Ayah 7 in Surat Al-^Imran means: [No one knows their true meanings except Allah and those who are firmly rooted in the knowledge of the Religion. The latter say, We believe in it, all of it is from our Lord and none will understand the message except men of comprehension.] In relation to this ayah, Ibn ^Abbas said: I am one of those who are firmly rooted in the knowledge of the Religion. It is well known that Ibn ^Abbas is generally regarded as being foremost among the Companions in the explanation of the meanings of the ayat of the Quran. Among those who have perversity in their hearts are the mushabbihah, those who liken Allah to His creation. The followers of Ibn Taymiyah and Muhammad Ibn ^AbdilWahhab are among the group of the mushabbihah. They falsely claim that it is prohibited to assign specific meanings to the mutashabihat ayat and especially those that pertain to the attributes of Allah. Moreover, they innovated a devilish rule that assigning specific meanings to these ayat would lead to canceling these attributes of Allah. This claim of theirs leads to interpretations of the ayat of the Quran that contradict one another and interpretations of the ahadith of the Prophet that contradict one another and contradict the ayat of the Quran. Furthermore, their claim accuses the Islamic scholars among the Salaf and the Khalaf of blasphemy for denying the attributes of Allah. This would include: Ibn ^Abbas, Sufyan athThawriyy, Mujahid, Sa^id Ibn Jubayr, Malik, Ahmad, alBukhariyy, an-Nawawiyy, Ibn Rajab alHanbaliyy, Ibn-ul-Jawziyy, Ibn Hajar, alBayhaqiyy, Abu Fadl at-Tamimiyy, ^Abdul-Qahir al-Baghdadiyy, the linguist and scholar of hadith Murtada az-Zabidiyy, and others. Foremost, by this claim of theirs they are contradicting the Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam. Al-Bukhariyy related that the Prophet made a du^a (a supplication) for Ibn ^Abbas. The Prophet said: which means:
Posted on: Sat, 03 Jan 2015 12:52:56 +0000
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