Allah do all matters return (53).” [al-Shūrā 52–53]

Allah Most High also says:

“So put your trust in Allah; indeed, you stand upon the clear truth (79).” [al-Naml 79]

And He says:

“Say, ‘This is my way: I call to Allah with sure knowledge—I and those who follow me. Glory be to Allah, and I am not one of the polytheists’ (108).” [Yūsuf 108]

If it is asked, “If what he has said is unsound and establishes no distinction, but instead amounts to setting the Quran aside altogether, then what is the distinction between the clear and the ambiguous passages?”

The answer is that ambiguity is of two kinds. The first arises on the listener’s part, owing either to limited understanding or to negligence. This is not peculiar to any particular type of discourse; rather, it may occur in all types. However, where the discourse itself contains ambiguity, this difficulty is greater, since ambiguity then arises from both sides. A person in this situation is commanded to act upon that whose meaning is clear to him and to believe in what remains unclear to him, as the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said in a hadith narrated by Ahmad and Ibn Mājah—may Allah Most High have mercy on them both—and others, on the authority of Amr ibn Shuayb, from