the precise account of the clear and the ambiguous according to the original meanings of the words.”

Two things may be described as resembling one another even though many people can distinguish between them, while some may not. By contrast, the term “identical” is narrower in meaning than “similar.” Allah Most High says:

“And palm trees and crops of varied produce, and olives and pomegranates, similar and dissimilar.” [al-Anʿām 141]

The other verse has similar wording: “alike and dissimilar.” It has been said that some are similar and others dissimilar. Another explanation is that they are alike in appearance and colour but dissimilar in taste.

It is well known that even where their foliage and appearance are similar—as olive leaves resemble pomegranate leaves—people can distinguish between them. The same applies when some are described as similar, as when one tree resembles another, its leaves resemble the other’s leaves, or its fruit resembles the other’s fruit.