was said to have tears like coral. Allah Most High’s words,

“And all things We have enumerated in a clear register (12)” [Yā Sīn 12],

were interpreted as referring to ‘Alī, because he is an infallible imam who elucidates knowledge.

I know a student of knowledge who read Allah Most High’s words,

“And they said, ‘Why was this Quran not sent down to a great man from one of the two cities?’ (31)” [al-Zukhruf 31],

and thought that they referred to the place called al-Qaryatayn in Syria.

Some people have interpreted “of the pillars” as referring to Damascus because of its columns. This is clearly false, for ‘Ād did not live in Syria but in Yemen, and it was to them that Hūd was sent. Allah Most High says:

“With ‘Ād (6), Iram of the pillars (7)” [al-Fajr 6-7].

They have transmitted this interpretation in works of Quranic exegesis from ‘Ikrima and Ibn al-Musayyab, and from