Chapter Three: Clarifying that the sound position is the one held by the early generations—may Allah have mercy on them—supported by clear proofs and acceptable arguments, and demonstrating this through the Quran, the Sunnah, scholarly consensus, and rational evidence.
- As for the Quranic proof, it is found in His statement: “It is He who has sent down to you the Book. In it are verses that are definite in meaning; they are the foundation of the Book. Others are ambiguous. As for those in whose hearts is deviation, they pursue what is ambiguous in it, seeking discord and seeking its interpretation. Yet no one knows its interpretation except Allah.” (Al-ʿImran 3:7)
Here, Allah reproaches those who seek the interpretation of the ambiguous passages and couples them in blame with those who seek discord. He then declares that none knows their interpretation except Allah. According to the majority of scholars, the correct stopping point is at His words, “except Allah,” and the claim that the firmly grounded in knowledge know that interpretation cannot be upheld, for three reasons:
First, Allah censures those who pursue the interpretation. Had it been known to the firmly grounded, seeking it would be praiseworthy rather than blameworthy.
Second, the Prophet ﷺ said, “When you see those who follow what is ambiguous therein, they are the ones Allah intended, so beware of them.” Thus, anyone who pursues the ambiguous is among those whose hearts are deviant. If the firmly grounded in knowledge possessed that interpretation, then by following it they would themselves be censured and deviant, whereas the verse praises them and clearly distinguishes them from those whose hearts are