and that accords with them is the sound interpretation, whereas any reading that conflicts with the purport of the texts and the sunnah is a corrupt reading. In this respect there is no distinction between reports of doctrine and commands of practice. Every interpretation that agrees with what the Messenger brought is acceptable; whatever contradicts it is to be rejected.

Erroneous interpretation falls into several categories:

1. That which the wording, by its very coinage, can in no way bear—such as construing the Prophet’s statement, “until the Lord of Might and Glory places His foot upon it” (1) to mean that “foot” signifies a group of people. Nothing in any branch of the Arabic language supports such a usage.

2. That which the word cannot sustain in its particular grammatical form—dual, plural, and the like—even though it might bear that meaning when singular; for example, interpreting His words, “for that which I created with My two hands” [Saad 38:75] as mere “power.”

3. That which its context (2) and construction will not tolerate, even though the wording might allow it elsewhere—such as interpreting His words, “Are they waiting for anything but that the angels should come to them, or that your Lord should come, or that some of your Lord’s signs should come” [al-Anʿām 6:158], by claiming that the coming of the Lord means the coming of some of His signs, namely His command. The verse’s division, alternation, and variety categorically reject such a reading. The same holds for interpreting the Prophet’s words, “Indeed you will see your Lord openly, just as you see the full moon on a cloudless night, and just as you see the sun at noon on a cloudless day” (3).