expressions to the unequivocal, the apparent, the indeterminate, and the interpreted, he may be answered as follows: an indeterminate expression need not be shared between two meanings; rather, it may give no indication of either. Examples include the words of the Most High:

“And give its due on the day of harvest.” [Al-An‘ām 141]

And His words:

“Take charity from their wealth, purifying and cleansing them thereby.” [Al-Tawbah 103]

And His words:

“Bow and prostrate.” [Al-Hajj 77]

And His words:

“And let them circumambulate the Ancient House.” (29) [Al-Hajj 29]

And His words:

“Then compensation by fasting, charity, or sacrifice.” [Al-Baqarah 196]

The word “prostration” is not shared between one prostration and two, three, or four. Nor is the word “circumambulation” shared between particular numbers of circuits, nor does “compensation,” when it takes the form of fasting, have shared meanings corresponding to particular numbers of days. Rather, these expressions do not, by themselves, indicate any specific quantity; they are therefore indeterminate. Thus, when the Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, stated that prostration consists of two prostrations, circumambulation of seven circuits, and compensation through fasting of three days, and gave similar explanations, this constituted an explanation of what was indeterminate in the Quran, as all rational people agree—even though an indeterminate expression is not necessarily shared between meanings.

Sixth: His statement: “Either the wording admits one of the two meanings more readily than the other, or it does not, but admits them both equally.”