Section: The Third Principle – Keeping the revealed texts upon their apparent meaning
• The apparent meaning of the texts is the first sense that comes to mind in view of the words they are attached to and the surrounding Qur’anic context.
• Our duty regarding these texts is to carry them upon that apparent sense without distortion, for the Almighty says: “Indeed, it is a revelation from the Lord of the worlds; the Trustworthy Spirit has brought it down upon your heart so that you may be one of the warners, in a clear Arabic tongue” (Q 26:192-195). He also says: “We have made it an Arabic Qur’an so that you may understand” (Q 43:3), and: “Follow what has been sent down to you from your Lord and do not follow, apart from Him, any protectors” (Q 7:3).
Since Allah revealed the Qur’an in Arabic so that it could be grasped and understood, and since He has commanded us to follow it, it is therefore incumbent upon us to keep it upon its apparent meaning in accordance with that Arabic tongue—unless a firmly established legal consideration dictates otherwise.
There is no distinction here between the verses on the divine attributes and other passages; indeed, adhering to the apparent sense in the verses of the attributes is even more obligatory and manifest, because their import is purely revelatory and the intellect has no independent role in detailing it.
• If someone objects with regard to the texts on the attributes, saying, “They must not be taken at face value, for their apparent sense is not intended,” the answer is: What do you mean by “apparent sense”?
– If by it you mean the meanings that emerge from the texts—meanings befitting Allah without likening Him to His creation—then this apparent sense is certainly what Allah and His Messenger intended, and it is religiously binding upon the servants to accept it and believe in it.