the verses of the Book and a clear Quran.” (1) [al-Hijr 1]

He has described it as having been made Arabic so that they might understand it. He has also described it as insights, clarification, and guidance for mankind, along with other descriptions mentioned earlier. All of this applies to the entire Quran. Thus, the verses described in His words, “and others are ambiguous” [Āl ‘Imrān 7], are also perfected and made clear; they too provide clarification, guidance, and insight. Yet they possess a particular ambiguity not found in the unambiguous verses. Likewise, the unambiguous verses have other properties beyond those they share with the rest.

As for “ambiguous,” this may mean that these verses possess ambiguity intrinsically, such that they are ambiguous in reality and to everyone. Alternatively, it may mean that they are unclear to some people, in which case ambiguity is relative. If this second meaning is intended, then any discourse whatsoever may be unclear to some people because of their deficient knowledge and understanding, not because of any deficiency in the discourse itself, which is itself ambiguous.

This is further illustrated by the fact that anyone unfamiliar with the speech of a particular person or group, and with what they intend by their expressions, will find those expressions unclear upon hearing them. He will be unable to distinguish their intended meaning from other meanings. Indeed, he may suppose that the intended meaning is other than