Fath al-Rabbani

Benefits: … In the last sentence, the people whom we are commanded to avoid are those mentioned in the above verse: {فَأَ مَّا الَّذِینَ فِی قُلُوبِہِمْ زَیْغٌ} … then those in whose hearts is deviation. Muslims should not sit in the gatherings of such people, nor pay attention to them. By "muhkamat" are meant those verses in which there are commands and prohibitions, rulings and issues, and stories and narratives, whose meanings are clear and definite, and in understanding which no one faces any difficulty. In contrast, "mutashabihat" are, for example, matters such as the essence of Allah Ta'ala, issues of divine decree (qada wa qadar), Paradise and Hell, angels, etc.—that is, realities beyond human intellect, whose true nature the human mind is incapable of comprehending, or in which there is room for interpretation, or at the very least, such ambiguity exists that it is possible to mislead the common people. That is why it is further stated that those in whose hearts is deviation, they pursue the mutashabihat verses and, through them, create tribulations, as is the case with the Christians. The Qur'an has called 'Isa (alayhis salam) the servant of Allah and a prophet; this is a clear and definite matter. But the Christians, leaving this aside, use what the Noble Qur'an has called 'Isa (alayhis salam) "Ruhullah" (Spirit of Allah) and "Kalimatullah" (Word of Allah) as a mistaken proof for their misguided beliefs; they base themselves on these very mutashabihat. In contrast, a rightly guided Muslim acts upon the muhkamat and also tries to understand the meaning of the mutashabihat in the light of the muhkamat.