Abu Dawud

Benefits and Issues:
➊
There are several meanings to the Qur’anic verses being muhkam (clear) and mutashabih (ambiguous).
For example, those verses which abrogate other verses;
or those in which the lawful and unlawful are mentioned;
or those verses whose meanings are clear and the servants are aware of them;
or those for which there is no interpretation—these are called muhkam.
And by mutashabih is meant those verses which have been abrogated,
but their recitation is still performed;
or those which resemble each other in truth and veracity—these are called mutashabih;
or such verses whose meanings and implications are known only to Allah, the Mighty and Majestic;
or those whose implications have multiple aspects—these are called mutashabihat.

➋
Argumentation (jidal) is apparently not considered praiseworthy, but for the manifestation of truth and the refutation of falsehood, it is extremely necessary and praiseworthy. In the Noble Qur’an, Allah the Exalted has made knowledge and wisdom a condition for it.
The Divine command is: (And argue with them in a way that is best) (an-Nahl: 125).
To argue merely for show and fame (reputation) or in an attempt to attract people’s attention, or in support of falsehood, is forbidden (haram).

➌
One should keep away from the people of desires (ahl al-ahwa’, i.e., the people of innovation) and those who pursue ambiguous matters, so that they do not gain strength and fame, and lest they cause anyone to fall into tribulation. However, it is the duty of firmly grounded scholars to manifest and clarify the truth, and to continually warn and inform the common people against falsehood.

➍
And such people, under various names, have existed in every era and in every place.

Hadith Commentary:
Previously, the Jews pursued the ambiguous verses; they calculated the duration of this verse from the letters of entire surahs. Then the Khawarij emerged. Ibn Abbas (radi Allahu anhu) referred to the Khawarij as those people and said that the first innovation (bid‘ah) to arise in Islam was the tribulation (fitnah) of the Khawarij.

As for all the verses related to the attributes of Allah (صفات باری), interpreting them according to their apparent meanings and not engaging in figurative interpretation (ta’wil), and consigning the reality of these attributes to Allah, is precisely the methodology of the pious predecessors (salaf salih). To pursue their figurative interpretations is the way of the people of deviation (ahl al-zaygh).

May Allah guide us upon the path of the pious predecessors—Ameen. The disconnected letters (huruf muqatta‘at) that appear at the beginning of some surahs are also counted among the ambiguous (mutashabihat) verses.

Hadith Commentary:
➊
In one narration, the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:
“When you see such people, recognize them immediately and keep away from them.”
(Jami‘ al-Tirmidhi, Tafsir al-Qur’an, Hadith: 2993, 2994)

➋
The Jews were the first to follow the ambiguous (mutashabih) verses and attempted to interpret the disjointed letters (huruf muqatta‘at).
Then, through the abjad calculation (hisab juml), they made futile attempts to determine the duration of this ummah’s existence.
After them, the Khawarij engaged in this practice, to the extent that it is narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas (radi Allahu anhu) that he considered the Khawarij to be intended in the verse.
It is narrated from ‘Umar (radi Allahu anhu) that when he learned about a man named “Dabi‘” who was constantly probing into the ambiguous verses, he beat him until his head was bloodied.
(Fath al-Bari: 8/266)

➌
Hafiz Ibn Hajar (rahimahullah), while explaining the wisdom behind ambiguous verses, writes:
Just as the limbs of the body are tested through various acts of worship, so too is the intellect tested through ambiguous verses.
Its example is like a wise man who authors a book and, in some places, employs brevity so that the student is compelled to humble himself before the teacher at those points.
(Fath al-Bari: 8/266)

➍
According to our inclination, the muhkam (clear) verses are those whose meaning is evident, in which there is no ambiguity whatsoever, nor can any other meaning be taken.
By these are meant the rulings related to lawful and unlawful matters.
And these alone are sufficient for human guidance.
Since the primary subject of the Noble Qur’an is human guidance, and complete guidance is provided through the muhkam verses, therefore, only the muhkam verses have been called “the Mother of the Book” (umm al-kitab).
And these are the verses regarding which the Qur’an claims:
“We have made the Qur’an easy.”
The mutashabihat (ambiguous) are those verses whose meaning is beyond the reach and grasp of the human mind.
Since human intellect is limited, while the universe and its realities are limitless, those with sound intellect do not pursue them; rather, the misguided make the ambiguous verses their target and basis for argument, from which the hadith instructs us to keep away.

➎
Since the source of both types of verses is the same, the people of knowledge say that both are from Allah, and regarding the ambiguous verses, they say that these too are the statements of Allah, but they do not attempt to reach their reality, because such verses have no connection to human guidance, and secondly, there is a great risk of misguidance in pursuing them.
According to us, this is the preferred position. However, some people believe that the reality of the ambiguous verses is known only to Allah, but those firmly grounded in knowledge (rasikhun fi al-‘ilm) also know, as Imam Bukhari (rahimahullah) has transmitted the statement of Imam Mujahid (rahimahullah) that the meaning of the ambiguous verses is known to Allah and also to those firmly grounded in knowledge. But this position is weak. Thus, Hafiz Ibn Hajar (rahimahullah) has transmitted from Musannaf ‘Abd al-Razzaq the narration of Ibn ‘Abbas (radi Allahu anhu) that he used to recite:
﴿وَمَا يَعْلَمُ تَأْوِيلَهُ إِلَّا اللَّهُ ۗ وَالرَّاسِخُونَ فِي الْعِلْمِ يَقُولُونَ آمَنَّا بِهِ﴾
Its meaning is that no one knows the interpretation of the ambiguous verses except Allah, and those firmly grounded in knowledge say: “We believe in it.”
Although this narration does not establish a variant recitation, at the very least, it is authentically transmitted from the Interpreter of the Qur’an (Ibn ‘Abbas), so his statement should be given preference over all others.
(Fath al-Bari: 8/264)
Moreover, there are countless ambiguous verses whose reality cannot be known even to those firmly grounded in knowledge, among which are the disjointed letters (huruf muqatta‘at). However, regarding verses with words that have multiple meanings, it can be said that those firmly grounded in knowledge may perhaps attain their reality.

➏
In any case, the practice of those firmly grounded in knowledge is not only that they do not pursue the interpretation of the ambiguous verses, but they also supplicate to Allah that the thoughts of those who are engrossed in the ambiguous verses do not influence our hearts and minds in any way.
May Allah, by His mercy, protect us from the ideas and beliefs of such mischief-makers and grant us sound intellect and understanding.
And Allah knows best.

Hadith Commentary:
Vocabulary of the Hadith:
Muhkamat:
Those whose meaning is clear and explicit,
there is no ambiguity in them, and according to Shah Waliullah,
if an expert in the language understands only one meaning from it, it is muhkam (clear), and if there is a possibility of more than one meaning, it is mutashabih (ambiguous). For example, there is a difference regarding the antecedent of a pronoun, or a word has more than one meaning,
or the conjunction could refer to something near or something distant,
or the sentence could be conjunctive or it could be a new and independent sentence (mustanifah).

Hunna umm al-kitab:
That is, they are the reference, center, and origin of the entire Book,
the meaning of the ambiguous verses will be determined in the light of these,
and a meaning contrary to them cannot be taken.

Wa ma ya‘lamu ta’wilahu illa Allah:
No one knows their true reality except Allah,
because such matters are mentioned in them
that are beyond our observation and knowledge,
for example, the attributes and actions of Allah, the blessings in Allah’s Paradise, and the pains and punishments in Hell,
their true reality and form are beyond our comprehension,
although their apparent meaning, which is sufficient for admonition and taking lesson,
we can understand, and in this sense, those firmly grounded in knowledge know their meanings and implications,
but not in terms of their true reality and essence,
however, they have faith in them.
Therefore, it is necessary to avoid those who seek to know their true reality, and the theologians (mutakallimun), by interpreting (ta’wil) the verses of attributes,
opened the door of tribulation (fitnah), and consciously or unconsciously, for the innovating sects—the Mu‘tazilah,
the Murji’ah, and the Khawarij—they opened the way for the possibility of interpretation,
from which the innovating sects greatly benefited and continue to benefit to this day.

Explanation:
1:
He is Allah, the One Who sent down upon you the Book, in which are clear, firm verses—they are the foundation of the Book—and others are ambiguous. So those in whose hearts is deviation follow that which is ambiguous from it, seeking discord and seeking its misinterpretation. Yet none knows its true interpretation except Allah (Aal Imran: 7).

Commentary:
(1)
Some verses of the Noble Qur’an pertain to rulings which are clear, or their clarification is provided by authentic hadiths, and there is no difficulty in acting upon them; all such verses are muhkam (clear and decisive). Some verses pertain to matters of creed, such as tawhid (monotheism), prophethood, the Hereafter, etc. Their details are present in the Qur’an and hadith, and their evidences are also mentioned; these too are muhkam. In contrast, there are some verses whose clear meaning cannot be determined, for example, the disjointed letters (huruf muqatta‘at). It is sufficient to have faith in them to the extent that they are also a part of the Qur’an and are the speech of Allah, for the recitation of which there is reward just as there is reward for reciting other verses. There is no need for further investigation beyond this. Similarly, those matters which pertain to the unseen (ghayb), it is sufficient to have faith in them in the same manner: that these things certainly exist, or these events will certainly occur, and the details mentioned about them in the Qur’an and hadith are sufficient for us; there is no need for further research or inquiry. For example, angels are an obedient creation of Allah who are engaged in their respective assigned duties. Or, on the Day of Resurrection, the deeds of the servants will be weighed. One should have faith in this. There is no need to debate that deeds are immaterial things and weighing is for material things. Without doubt, Allah, with His perfect power, will weigh them with whatever kind of scale He wills. Similarly, the punishment of the grave also pertains to the unseen. Therefore, the objection that we do not see signs of punishment in the graves of disbelievers and sinners, nor do we see signs of blessings in the graves of the righteous, is baseless. The more one debates and investigates such matters, the greater the chances of error; therefore, having a general faith in them is sufficient.

(2)
Abstaining from unnecessary debate regarding the mutashabihat (ambiguous matters) is indeed the way of the scholars of truth.

(3)
Bringing such matters under discussion opens the doors to tribulation (fitnah); therefore, those who initiate such debates should be discouraged so that they do not become a danger to the faith of the common people.

Takhrij al-Hadith:
[صحيح بخاري 4547],
[صحيح مسلم 6775]

Fiqh al-Hadith:
➊ This hadith indicates that innovators (such as the Khawarij and others) will continue to emerge in the Ummah, but it is necessary to avoid them.
➋ Muhkam is that verse which is clear and explicit, and does not require any interpretation, such as those concerning lawful and unlawful, promise and threat, punishment and reward, and commands and prohibitions, etc.
Mutashabih is that verse which has the possibility of multiple meanings, such as the disjointed letters (huruf muqatta‘at), etc. See: Tafsir Ibn Jarir al-Tabari [118، 113/3] and Fath al-Bari [210/8، 211 ح4547]
➌ Some people of innovation claim that Allah’s being established (istiwa) over the Throne, His descending to the lowest heaven, and the verses of attributes, etc., are among the mutashabihat. The claim of the people of innovation is rejected, and nothing of this sort is established from the Salaf al-Salih (pious predecessors).
➍ The only valid meaning of the Book and Sunnah is that which is established from the firmly grounded scholars in knowledge, i.e., the trustworthy and truthful Salaf al-Salih (pious predecessors).