especially when these matters are left to stand in their plain wording in the Sacred Law; such people constitute the greater part of humankind, the general public.

A second group have come to know the true nature of these matters. They are the scholars firmly grounded in knowledge, and they are the fewest among people.

A third group are beset by doubts about these issues and are unable to resolve them. They rank above the common folk yet below the scholars. It is with regard to this group that tashābuh (ambiguity) is found in the Sacred Law, and they are the ones whom Allah has reproved. As for the scholars and the masses, in their sight the Sacred Law contains no ambiguity whatsoever; and it is in this sense that tashābuh should be understood.

What befalls this third group in relation to the Sacred Law is like what happens with wheat bread, for example: though it is wholesome nourishment for most bodies, it can be harmful to a small minority, even while it benefits the majority. In the same way, the instruction of the Sacred Law benefits most people, yet it may harm a few. To this (1) the divine words allude: “and He leads none astray thereby except the defiantly disobedient” ⦗Al-Baqarah 2:25⦘.

Still, such a situation arises in only a small number of the verses of the Noble Book (2) and among a small number of people. For the most part, the verses in question are those that convey information about matters of the unseen for which no analogue exists in the visible realm. They are therefore expressed (3) by means of what is visible—whatever created thing is nearest (4) to them and bears the closest resemblance (5) to them—so that some people are led to take