deviant—and that would be a contradiction.

Third, the verse itself shows that people are divided into two groups, for He says: “Fa-ammā alladhīna fī qulūbihim zaygh…” (As for those in whose hearts is deviation…). The particle fa-ammā is used to lay out distinct clauses, so the verse is clearly separating two parties: the first, the deviants who pursue the ambiguous, and the second, the firmly grounded in knowledge. Each group must therefore possess the opposite quality of the other. It follows that the firmly grounded differ from the deviants precisely by refraining from following the ambiguous, entrusting its meaning to Allah and saying, “ʾĀmannā bihi kullun min ʿinda rabbinā” (We believe in it; all of it is from our Lord), abandoning any attempt to seek its allegorical interpretation. On our reading this sense is coherent. Whoever connects “the firmly grounded in knowledge” to the verb—making them know the interpretation—undermines this meaning, refuses to treat the firmly grounded as a separate category, and fails to contrast them with the censured group; therefore such a reading cannot stand.

Fourth, had conjunction been intended, the text would have said “wa-yaqūlūna” (and they say) with the particle wāw, for the reconstructed wording would then be: “the firmly grounded in knowledge know its interpretation, and they say….”

Fifth, their statement, “ʾĀmannā bihi kullun min ʿinda rabbinā” (We believe in it; all of it is from our Lord), clearly conveys entrustment and submission with respect to what they do not know, since they recognize that it comes from their Lord just as the definitive verses—whose meanings are known—also come from Him.

Sixth, whenever the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, saw anyone pursuing the ambiguous verses and asking about them, they concluded that he was among the deviant. Thus ʿUmar counted Ṣabīgh among the deviants, going so far as to deem it lawful to strike and imprison him, and he ordered the people to avoid him. Later, Ṣabīgh himself acknowledged the truth of ʿUmar’s discernment, repented, abandoned his pursuit, benefited thereby, and was protected from joining the Khārijites. Had the interpretation been known to the firmly grounded, such treatment would not have been permissible.

Seventh, if the interpretation were known to the firmly grounded, then no one else should be allowed to know it, for Allah has denied that knowledge to anyone other than them; consequently, it would be impermissible for