This category, then, is one for which clarification may rightly be sought, for its meaning can indeed be reached. In fact, there is nothing in the Quran whose sense remains forever hidden from all people. Did not Allah, exalted is He, say, “We have sent down to you the Book as a clarification of all things” [16:89]? He also says, “This is a clear exposition for mankind, and a guidance and admonition for the God-fearing” [3:138]; “When We recite it, follow its recitation; then it is for Us to make it clear” [75:18-19]; “O mankind! A conclusive proof has come to you from your Lord, and We have sent down to you a manifest light” [4:174]; and, “The month of Ramadan in which the Quran was revealed, a guidance for mankind and clear proofs of guidance and the Criterion” [2:185].

There are many examples of this type, both in matters of doctrinal information and in practical legal rulings; in fact, most of the issues over which people have differed belong to this very category.

One doctrinal example is His statement, “There is nothing like unto Him” [42:11]. Those who deny the divine attributes—the ahl al-taʿṭīl—misunderstood this verse and concluded that Allah’s attributes must be negated, imagining that affirming them would amount to likening Allah to His creation. Consequently they rejected, in whole or in part, what Allah has used to describe Himself, ignoring the textual and rational proofs that establish the perfection of His attributes, and overlooking the fact that sharing the root meaning of a word does not imply sameness in reality.

Had they reflected more carefully on the very phrase that negates resemblance—“There is nothing like unto Him” [42:11]—they would have realized that it actually affirms the attributes rather than negates them. The denial of any likeness presupposes the existence of the basic attribute, yet in His absolute perfection nothing resembles Him, neither in His Essence nor in His attributes. If the attribute itself did not exist, denying resemblance would be meaningless.

A practical-legal example is the Prophet’s ﷺ instruction: “Pray as you have seen me praying …”