in all our deeds, and to safeguard us—by His grace and mercy—from any corruption of intent in our actions. Truly, He is Most Compassionate, Most Generous.

Know—may Allah guide both me and you to what pleases Him—that among the modes of exposition contained in this blessed book is the clarification of brevity that results from polysemy, whether the shared term is a noun, a verb, or a particle.

An example of ambiguity arising from a shared noun is His saying, “three qurūʾ” (2:228). The word qurʾ is applied both to a state of purity and to menstruation. Allah indicates that the waiting periods meant here are three purities by saying, “so divorce them during their waiting period” (65:1). The preposition li- in liʿiddatihinna denotes timing, and the time at which divorce is commanded in the verse is a state of purity, not menstruation. Supporting this is the added feminine tāʾ in the phrase “thalāthata qurūʾ,” which signals that the counted item is grammatically masculine—namely, periods of purity. Had the intention been menstrual periods, He would have said “thalātha qurūʾ” without the tāʾ, for the Arabs say “three purities” (thalāthata aṭhār) but “three menstrual periods” (thalātha ḥayḍāt).

You will encounter some remarks on this question in the present translation, and its full elaboration with proofs under Sūrat al-Baqarah, Allah willing.

Another instance of a shared noun is His words, “and let them circumambulate the ancient House” (22:29). The adjective ʿatīq is used for what is ancient, for what has been freed from the domination of tyrants, and for what is noble. All three readings have been proposed here. Yet Allah’s explicit statement that it is the very first House appointed for humankind—“Indeed, the first House established for people was that at Bakkah, blessed…” (3:96)—supports the first meaning.

An example of ambiguity created by a shared verb is His saying, “By the night when it ʿasʿasa” (81:17), for the verb ʿasʿasa can denote the coming of night or its departure. Another verse has come