either is used alone, as in His words:

“For the poor who are restricted in the cause of Allah,”

and His words:

“Its expiation is to feed ten needy people,”

the other is included within its meaning. But when they are mentioned together in His words:

“Alms are only for the poor and the needy,”

they denote two distinct categories.

It has been said that when a specific term is mentioned alongside a general term, it is not included within the general term in that context; rather, this falls into the category just described. The correct view, however, is that this is not necessarily so. Allah Most High says:

“Whoever is an enemy to Allah, His angels, His messengers, Gabriel and Michael,”

and He says:

“And when We took from the prophets their covenant, and from you, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, son of Mary.”

A specific term may be mentioned alongside a general term for various reasons. Sometimes it possesses a distinctive quality not shared by the other members of the general category, as with Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus. At other times, the general term is expressed without qualification, so its comprehensive scope may not be understood, as in His words:

“A guidance for the Allah-fearing,”

“Who believe in the unseen, establish prayer, and spend from what We have provided them,”

“And who believe in what has been revealed to you and what was revealed before you.”

His words, “believe in the unseen,” encompass the unseen matters in which belief is obligatory. Yet the expression is general and does not itself indicate that what has been revealed to you and what was revealed before you are included among those unseen matters. The intended meaning may also be that they believe both in what is conveyed—the unseen—and in the revelation conveying news of the unseen, namely, what has been revealed to you and what was revealed before you.