Surah Aal-i-Imraan (3) — Ayah 7

(Ayah 7) ➊ In one place, all the verses of the Noble Quran have been called "muhkam" (clear and decisive), as it is stated: «الٓرٰ كِتٰبٌ اُحْكِمَتْ اٰيٰتُهٗ» [ھود : ۱ ] “{ الٓرٰ}, a Book whose verses have been made firm.” And in another place, all the verses are called "mutashabih" (similar), as it is stated: «اَللّٰهُ نَزَّلَ اَحْسَنَ الْحَدِيْثِ كِتٰبًا مُّتَشَابِهًا » [الزمر : ۲۳ ] “Allah has sent down the best statement, a Book consistent within itself.” And here, some verses are called "mutashabih" and some "muhkam," but there is no contradiction in this. The meaning of all verses being "muhkam" is that there is no deficiency or flaw in the entire Quran; it is extremely strong and firm. And the meaning of all verses being "mutashabih" is that all its verses are similar to each other in eloquence, rhetoric, subjects, and meanings. Here, where it is said that some are "muhkam" and some "mutashabih," "muhkam" refers to those verses whose meaning is absolutely clear and explicit, in which there is no room for interpretation; these are called {’’ اُمُّ الْكِتٰبِ ‘‘}, meaning the foundation and basis. In these very verses, people are invited to the religion, and in these are stated the fundamental beliefs, acts of worship, and rulings of the religion. The admonitions and lessons mentioned in the Noble Quran are also included in these, and the misguidances of mankind are also pointed out in these verses. Whereas "mutashabihat" refers to those verses that are similar and can have several possible meanings, so people become confused in understanding their intended meaning, or there is room for interpretation in them, or in which such realities are mentioned that it is necessary to believe in them in a general sense, but knowing their details is neither necessary for a person nor possible with human intellect. It is written in Tafsir Wahidi: “The deniers of Allah’s attributes declare Allah’s ‘istiwa’ (being above the Throne), His ‘yad’ (hand), and His ‘nuzul’ (descending every night to the lowest heaven and on the Day of Resurrection to the earth) as mutashabihat and consider it impossible to understand their meanings, but the Ahl al-Hadith consider them muhkam, understand their meanings clearly, but leave the reality of their nature to Allah.”

➋ In this verse, there is also a warning to the Christians that they use the verses { ”كَلِمَتُهٗ“ } and { ”رُوْحٌ مِّنْهُ“ } and others regarding Isa (Jesus) عليه السلام to argue for the divinity of Isa عليه السلام and for him being the son of Allah, but they do not pay attention to other verses: « اِنْ هُوَ اِلَّا عَبْدٌ اَنْعَمْنَا عَلَيْهِ » [الزخرف : ۵۹ ] “He is nothing but a servant upon whom We bestowed favor,” and «اِنَّ مَثَلَ عِيْسٰى عِنْدَ اللّٰهِ كَمَثَلِ اٰدَمَ» [آل عمران : ۵۹ ] “Indeed, the example of Isa to Allah is like that of Adam,” and other similar verses. (Ibn Kathir)

➌ { فَاَمَّا الَّذِيْنَ فِيْ قُلُوْبِهِمْ زَيْغٌ :} That is, those people in whose hearts is deviation and whose occupation is only to create discord, they leave the muhkam verses and pursue the mutashabihat, and since they can have several possible meanings, they derive from them such meanings that are contrary to the authentic and muhkam verses of the Quran, seeking discord and, in their opinion, seeking its true interpretation. Umm al-Mu’minin Aisha رضي الله عنها narrates that the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم recited this verse up to { ”اُولُوا الْاَلْبَابِ“ } and then said: “When you see those who pursue the mutashabihat, then know that they are those whom Allah has named, so beware of them.” [بخاری، التفسیر، باب : «منہ آیات محکمات » : ۴۵۴۷ ]

The Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم said: “Arguing about the Quran is disbelief.” [أبو داوٗد، السنۃ، باب النہی عن الجدال : ۴۶۰۳، عن أبی ہریرۃ رضی اللہ عنہ ، صحیح ] Therefore, it is necessary to act upon the muhkam part of the Quran and to have faith in the mutashabih as it is, and not to discuss its details. (Fath al-Bayan, Ibn Kathir)

➍ {وَ مَا يَعْلَمُ تَاْوِيْلَهٗۤ اِلَّا اللّٰهُ:} is the plural of { ”اللّٰهُ“ }, which means pure intellect. (Raghib) The intellect in which there is a mixture of desire, innovation, or shirk is not called {’’ لُبٌّ ‘‘}. The purpose is that the ability to reach the true meaning of the mutashabih is also granted to the people of knowledge, but only to those whose intellect is free from every kind of desire, innovation, and shirk. In the hadith, the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم prayed for Ibn Abbas رضي الله عنهما: [ اَللَّهُمَّ فَقِّهْهُ فِي الدِّيْنِ وَ عَلِّمْهُ التَّأْوِيْلَ ] “O Allah! Grant him understanding in religion and teach him the interpretation.” [مستدرک حاکم : 534/3، ح : ۶۲۸۰ مسند أحمد: 266/1، ح ۲۴۰۱، صحیح ] It is thus known that the knowledge of interpretation is also given to those firmly grounded in knowledge.

➏ In Ahsan al-Bayan, it is stated that one meaning of "ta’wil" is the real essence of something; in this sense, it is necessary to pause at {”اِلَّا اللّٰهُ“}, because the real essence of everything is clearly known only to Allah. The second meaning of "ta’wil" is the explanation and clarification of something; in this sense, instead of pausing at { ’’ اِلَّا اللّٰهُ ‘‘}, one can also pause at {’’ وَ الرّٰسِخُوْنَ فِي الْعِلْمِ ‘‘}, because those firmly grounded in knowledge also have knowledge of the correct explanation and clarification. Both these meanings of "ta’wil" are established from the usage in the Noble Quran. (Summary from Ibn Kathir)

7. 1. Muhkamat refers to those verses in which there are commands and prohibitions, rulings and issues, and stories and narratives whose meaning is clear and definite, and no one faces any difficulty in understanding them. In contrast, there are the Mutashabihat verses, for example, the essence of Allah, the matters of predestination, Paradise and Hell, angels, etc.—that is, realities beyond intellect whose true nature the human mind is incapable of understanding, or in which there is room for interpretation, or at least such ambiguity that it is possible to mislead the common people. That is why it is said further that those in whose hearts is deviation, they pursue the Mutashabihat verses and cause discord through them, like the Christians. The Quran called Isa (Jesus) (AS) the servant of Allah and a prophet—this is a clear and definite matter—but the Christians, leaving this, use what the Quran called Isa (Jesus) (AS) "Ruhullah" and "Kalimatullah" to wrongly argue for their misguided beliefs. The same is the case with the people of innovation: contrary to the clear beliefs of the Quran, the false beliefs that the people of innovation have fabricated are based on these Mutashabihat. And sometimes, they even make the Muhkamat into Mutashabihat through their philosophical arguments and sophistry. May Allah protect us from this. In contrast, a Muslim with correct belief acts upon the Muhkamat and, if there is any confusion in the meaning of the Mutashabihat, tries to understand it in the light of the Muhkamat, because the Quran has declared these as the foundation of the Book. By this, he remains safe from discord and from the misguidance of beliefs. May Allah make us among them.

7. 2. One meaning of "ta'wil" is the true reality of something; in this sense, it is necessary to pause at الْا اللّٰہُ. Because only Allah knows the true reality of everything clearly. The second meaning of "ta'wil" is the interpretation, explanation, and clarification of something; in this sense, instead of pausing at الْا اللّٰہ, one can also pause at (وَالرّٰسِخُوْنَ فِي الْعِلْمِ) 3. Aal Imran:7), because those firmly grounded in knowledge also possess knowledge of the correct interpretation. Both these meanings of "ta'wil" are established from the usage in the Noble Quran (summarized from Ibn Kathir).

7. He is the One Who has sent down to you the Book. Some of its verses are clear and precise—they are the foundation of the Book—while others are allegorical. As for those in whose hearts is deviation, they pursue what is allegorical, seeking discord and searching for its interpretation, but no one knows its true interpretation except Allah. And those firm in knowledge say, “We believe in it; all of it is from our Lord.” And none take heed except those of understanding.

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What are Muhkamat and Mutashabihat?

Muhkamat are those verses whose meaning is clear, in which there is no kind of ambiguity, nor can any other meaning be taken from them, and by these are meant the commands and prohibitions related to halal and haram, and these alone are sufficient for the guidance of mankind. Since the main subject of the Quran is the guidance of mankind and complete guidance is obtained from the Muhkamat, therefore, the Muhkamat have been called Umm al-Kitab, and these are the verses regarding which the Quran claims that We have made the Quran easy.
[7] Mutashabihat are those verses whose meaning is beyond the reach of human intellect. Since human intellect is limited and the universe and its realities are unlimited, therefore, when Allah the Exalted describes such realities, He uses such words that are closest to the reality and also close to human understanding. Since the exact meaning of these verses cannot come into the human mind, there is room for ambiguity in them, and everyone starts interpreting them according to their own understanding. It should be clear that such verses are generally related to the essence and attributes of Allah, such as
﴿ ثُمَّ اسْتَويٰ عَلَي الْعَرْشِ﴾
and
﴿ اَلرَّحْمَنُ عَلَي الْعَرْشِ اسْتَويٰ﴾
Now, to pursue the question of what Allah’s Throne is like, what He Himself is like, and how He is established on the Throne—such thinking is sheer misguidance. Because Allah Himself has said:
﴿ لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهٖ شَيْءٌ﴾
[8]
Those Who Pursue Mutashabihat:

It should be clear that the majority of misguided sects target or base their arguments on such Mutashabihat verses. For example, when the aforementioned verses were not understood by the Jahmiyyah and Mu'tazilah, and they interpreted them according to reason, they changed the meaning of "istawa" to "istawla" (to dominate). Their belief is that since Allah is present everywhere, therefore, it is necessary to interpret such verses. In this verse, they interpret the meaning of Throne (and similarly, in some places, Kursi) as authority, and the meaning of "istawa" as "istawla" (to dominate), thus making these verses conform to their belief. Whereas Allah the Exalted has clearly stated that no one knows the correct interpretation of such verses except Allah, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "When you see those who pursue Mutashabihat, then know that Allah has mentioned them (in the Noble Quran), so beware of them." [بخاري، كتاب التفسير، تفسير آيت مذكور]
The second type of Mutashabihat are words with multiple meanings. For example, in the Arabic language, and similarly in many other languages, "ibn" or "son" is not used only for one's real son, but also for one's younger brother, slave, and servant, out of affection and love, they are called "son." From this word, the Jews misunderstood that they are really the sons and beloved of Allah, and the Christians misunderstood that Isa ؑ was really the son of Allah. The Quran has refuted this false notion of these people at many places. Similarly, after answering those who question about the beginning of the universe and the creation of the heavens and the earth, Allah the Exalted said in Surah Ha Mim Sajdah, verse 10:
﴿ سَوَاءً لِّلسَّايِٕلِيْنَ﴾
(i.e., the answer to the questioners is complete.) Now, since both "sawa" and "sa'il" are words with multiple meanings, those with a socialist mindset have derived their own ideology from these words, saying that this earth is equally for all those who ask for sustenance. Therefore, instead of remaining in individual ownership, it should be in the possession of the government. Now, it is clear that the context of this verse does not at all support such an ideology whose very foundation is based on the denial of the existence of Allah the Exalted. However, such perverse-minded people have used these words to support their ideology in order to incline Muslims towards socialism. This discussion will be found in detail at its proper place.
[9] Since Mutashabihat are related to such realities that are beyond the reach of human intellect and have no connection with human guidance, therefore, those with sound intellect and pure hearts do not pursue them. Their way of thinking is that since the source of both types of verses is the same, therefore, both are from Allah, correct and true. They believe in the Mutashabihat in the sense that they too are the statements of Allah the Exalted, and they do not even try to reach their reality. There are two reasons for this: firstly, such verses have no connection with human guidance; secondly, there is a great risk of misguidance in pursuing their reality. The above tafsir is according to those who consider a pause (waqf) at "illa Allah" necessary, and this is the preferred and most appropriate tafsir, as is also indicated by the sign of pause. However, some scholars do not consider a pause necessary here and consider the "wa" after it as conjunctive. In this sense, the meaning becomes that the reality of the Mutashabihat is known by Allah as well as those firmly grounded in knowledge, but this tafsir does not seem correct because there are countless Mutashabihat whose reality cannot be known by anyone except Allah, foremost among them being the disjointed letters (huruf muqatta'at). Besides, other examples have already been mentioned above, especially those related to the essence and attributes of Allah. However, regarding the verses with words of multiple meanings, it can be said that:
﴿رَاسِخُوْنَ فِيْ الْعِلْمِ﴾
they may be able to grasp their reality.