And somewhat similar to this, in certain respects, are the interpretations many commentators give of passages such as His words:

“Those who are patient, truthful, devoutly obedient, charitable, and who seek forgiveness before dawn.”

They claim that “those who are patient” means the Messenger of Allah; “the truthful,” Abū Bakr; “the devoutly obedient,” ʿUmar; “the charitable,” ʿUthmān; and “those who seek forgiveness,” ʿAlī. Likewise, concerning His words:

“Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and those with him”—Abū Bakr;
“are firm against the disbelievers”—ʿUmar;
“merciful among themselves”—ʿUthmān;
“you see them bowing and prostrating”—ʿAlī.

Even more astonishing is the claim some of them make:

“By the fig”—Abū Bakr;
“and the olive”—ʿUmar;
“and Mount Sinai”—ʿUthmān;
“and this secure city”—ʿAlī.

These and similar absurdities sometimes involve interpreting words as meaning something they cannot possibly signify, for these expressions do not denote those individuals. In the words of the Most High:

“And those with him are firm against the disbelievers, merciful among themselves; you see them bowing and prostrating,”

all these are descriptions of those who are with him. This is what grammarians call successive predicates. The point here is that they are all attributes of a single subject: those who are with him. It is not permissible to take each description as referring to a separate individual.

At other times, such interpretations involve restricting unqualified, general wording to a single individual, as in the claim that His words:

“Your only allies are Allah, His Messenger, and those who believe,”

refer to ʿAlī alone; or the claim some make that His words:

“And the one who brought the truth and believed in it,”

refer to Abū Bakr alone; or that His words:

“Those of you who spent and fought before the conquest are not equal,”

refer to Abū Bakr