and loud laughter, among other things. How much more, then, is this true of the ways he deliberately and voluntarily expresses himself, when his conduct makes it known that he intends thereby to convey his meaning and make it clear? Knowledge of his intent through these is clearer and stronger. If it is considered possible that he intended something other than what the indications show him to have intended, then those actions and states may likewise serve purposes other than those they ordinarily indicate. A man may weep deceitfully to display grief he does not truly feel, just as Joseph’s brothers came to their father weeping at night:

“And they brought his shirt stained with false blood.” [Yūsuf 18]

Second, people in relation to the Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, were either present with him and heard his words, or absent and received reports of his words. For those present, he clarified his meaning as he spoke, specifying precisely what he intended. When he commanded them to pray, give zakat, fast, and perform Hajj, he explained what these expressions denoted. He did not oblige them to learn what these expressions denoted from anyone else’s speech. Thus, they had no need for reports of others’ linguistic usage, nor to rule out alternative meanings or countervailing evidence. Rather, through the explanation he gave them alongside his words, they had direct and necessary knowledge of what he meant by these expressions. They transmitted this to those who came after them in a manner that imparted certainty.