what is actually intended—as when someone hears the speech of adherents of various doctrines or practitioners of various crafts before becoming familiar with what they mean. This also explains why many ignorant people and heretics find even unambiguous verses unclear. Although some heretics know that they are lying, many are confused and believe what they say to be true. An example is the interpretation of

“He has let the two seas flow, meeting together” (19) [al-Rahmān 19]

as referring to ‘Alī and Fātimah, and “pearls and coral” as referring to al-Hasan and al-Husayn, because the word “sea” can denote a scholar, and this