Huwa allathee anzala AAalayka alkitaba minhu ayatun muhkamatun hunna ommu alkitabi waokharu mutashabihatun faamma allatheena fee quloobihim zayghun fayattabiAAoona ma tashabaha minhu ibtighaa alfitnati waibtighaa taweelihi wama yaAAlamu taweelahu illa Allahu waalrrasikhoona fee alAAilmi yaqooloona amanna bihi kullun min AAindi rabbina wama yaththakkaru illa oloo alalbabi
English
Ahmed Ali
He has sent down this Book which contains some verses that are categorical and basic to the Book, and others allegorical. But those who are twisted of mind look for verses metaphorical, seeking deviation and giving to them interpretations of their own; but none knows their meaning except God; and those who are steeped in knowledge affirm: "We believe in them as all of them are from the Lord." But only those who have wisdom understand.
7
Tafseer
'Abdullāh Ibn 'Abbās / Muḥammad al-Fīrūzabādī
تفسير : (he it is who hath revealed unto thee (muhammad) the scripture) who sent you gabriel with the scripture (wherein are clear revelations) expositing the lawful and unlawful which are not abrogated and which are acted upon. (they are the substance of the book) they are the foundation of the book as they are the leading theme in each book. they are all acted upon. an example of this is the saying of allah: (say: come, i will recite unto you that which your lord hath made a sacred duty for you…) [6:151]. (and others (which are) allegorical) vague in their meanings to the jews, like the use of the letters of the alphabet according to their numerical value (hisab al-jumal) in such instances as alif. lam. mim, alif. lam. mim. sad, alif. lam mim. ra; and alif. lam. ra; it is also said that (others (which are) allegorical) means: other verses that are abrogated and no longer acted upon. (but those) the jews ka'b ibn al-ashraf, huyayy ibn akhtab and judayy ibn akhtab (in whose hearts is doubt) scepticism, opposition and deviance from guidance (pursue, forsooth, that which is allegorical seeking) in the qur'an ((to cause) dissension) pursuing disbelief, ascribing partners to allah, and holding fast to the error they are in (by seeking to explain it) to determine the future of this nation so that dominion reverts back to them. (none knoweth its explanation) the future of this nation (save allah). here allah interrupts his speech and then resumes it by saying: (and those who are of sound instruction) those who have a sound grasp of the knowledge of the torah: 'abdullah ibn salam and his fellow companions (say: we believe therein) in the qur'an; (the whole is from our lord) allah has revealed both those verses which are clear and those which are ambiguous; (but only men of understanding) who have sound minds such as 'abdullah ibn salam and his fellow companions (really heed) take admonition from the simile of the qur'an.
Jalāl al-Dīn al-Maḥallī
تفسير : he it is who revealed to you the book, wherein are verses [that are] clear, lucid in proof, forming the mother book, the original basis for rulings, and others allegorical, whose meanings are not known, such as the opening verses of some sūras. he [god] refers to the whole [qur’ān] as: 1) ‘clear’ [muhkam] where he says [a book] whose verses have been made clear [q. 11:1], meaning that it contains no imperfections; and as 2) ‘allegorical’ [mutashābih], where he says a book consimilar [q. 39:23], meaning that its parts resemble each other in terms of beauty and veracity. as for those in whose hearts is deviation, inclination away from truth, they follow the allegorical part, desiring sedition, among the ignorant of them, throwing them into specious arguments and confusion, and desiring its interpretation, its explanation, and none knows its interpretation, its explanation, save god, him alone. and those firmly rooted, established and capable, in knowledge (al-rāsikhūna fī’l-‘ilm is the subject, the predicate of which is [what follows]) say, ‘we believe in it, the allegorical part, that it is from god, and we do not know its meaning; all, of the clear and the allegorical, is from our lord’; yet none remembers (yadhdhakkar, the initial tā’ [of yatadhakkar] has been assimilated with the dhāl), that is, none is admonished, but people of pith, possessors of intellect, who, when they see those following that [allegorical part only], also say:
Sahl al-Tustari
تفسير : …as for those in whose hearts is deviation, they follow the allegorical part, desiring sedition…that is, disbelief; …and desiring its interpretation, refers to its interpretation according to the desire of their lower selves. …but no one knows its interpretation except god.ibn ʿabbās y said:god sent down the qurʾān according to four ways of reading (aḥruf): the lawful (ḥalāl) and the unlawful (ḥarām), ignorance of which nobody is excused; the interpretation (tafsīr) according to which the arabs have interpreted it; the interpretation according to which scholars (ʿulamāʾ) have interpreted it; and the ambiguous (mutashābih), which none but god, exalted is he, knows, and whoever claims knowledge of it other than god, mighty and majestic is he, is lying. his words:
…and those who are firmly rooted in knowledge (rāsikhūna fī’l-ʿilm)…[sahl] said:it was reported from ʿalī <img border="0" src="images/radeyallahanhom.jpg" width="24" height="22"> that he stated, ‘[those rooted in knowledge] are the ones whom knowledge has protected from plunging [into the interpretation of the qurʾān] according to some whim (hawā) or with set arguments (ḥujaj maḍrūba) without [awareness of] the unseen [mysteries] (ghuyūb).’ [this is] due to god’s guidance of them, and his disclosing to them his unseen secrets from within the treasure chests of knowledge. thus they said, we believe in the book; all of it is from our lord [3:7]. so god, exalted is he, acknowledged them [in this verse], and made them among the people of profound and far-reaching knowledge, as an increase granted to them from him. just as god has said, exalted is he, but say: ‘o my lord! advance me in knowledge [20:114]’.sahl also said:god, blessed and exalted is he, showed those who are firmly rooted in knowledge to be exceptionalbecause of their saying all of it is from our lord [3:7], by which they mean, the abrogating and the abrogated, the clear and the ambiguous. they are the ones who reveal three [ways of] knowing (ʿulūm), since those who know (ʿulamāʾ) may be [designated in] three [ways], namely: those [whose knowledge derives from] the divine lordliness (rabbāniyyūn), those [whose knowledge derives from] the divine light (nurāniyyūn); and those [whose knowledge derives from] the divine essence’ (dhātiyyūn). [those firmly rooted in knowledge reveal] in addition four [other kinds] of knowledge: revelation (waḥy), theophany (tajallī), knowledge directly bestowed by god (ʿindī) and knowledge from the divine presence (ladunnī), just as god has said, to whom we had given mercy from us and we had taught him knowledge from us [18:65], [and when he said], yet none remembers but the people of inner substance [2:269], that is, none reflects save the people of understanding (fahm) and intellect (ʿuqūl), who say:
