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Coordinating one thing with another in the Quran and in speech generally implies a distinction between the two elements, while both share in what is predicated of them. This distinction has degrees. The greatest is when they are entirely distinct: neither is identical to the other, nor part of it, nor known to be its necessary concomitant. Examples include His saying:

“He created the heavens and the earth and everything between them in six days,”

and similar passages; His saying:

“and Gabriel and Michael”;

and His saying:

“And He sent down the Torah and the Gospel before, as guidance for mankind, and He sent down the Criterion.”

This is the most common case.

Next is when there is a necessary connection between them, as in His saying:

“Do not mix truth with falsehood and conceal the truth”;

His saying:

“And whoever opposes the Messenger after guidance has become clear to him and follows a path other than that of the believers”;

and His saying:

“And whoever disbelieves in Allah, His angels, His Books, and His messengers.”

Whoever disbelieves in Allah has disbelieved in all of these. Thus, the latter element necessarily accompanies the former. In the preceding verse, the former element is a necessary concomitant, for whoever opposes the Messenger after guidance has become clear to him has followed a path other than that of the believers. There is disagreement regarding the second.

As for His saying:

“Do not mix truth with falsehood and conceal the truth,”

the two necessarily accompany one another. Whoever mixes truth with falsehood, making it confused with it, obscures the truth to the extent that he makes falsehood apparent, so that the truth becomes confused. And whoever conceals the truth needs to put in its place