they had learned the knowledge and practice contained in them. They said, ‘Thus we learned the Quran, knowledge, and practice together.’”

The explanations given by the Quranic commentators among the Companions and Successors cover the entire Quran, except for passages that some of them may find difficult and concerning which they therefore withhold judgment—not because no one knows their meaning, but because they themselves do not know it.

Moreover, Allah has commanded reflection upon the Quran without qualification. He has not excepted any part of it from such reflection, nor has He said, “Do not reflect upon the ambiguous passages.” Reflection without understanding is impossible. If there were any part of the Quran upon which one should not reflect, it would be impossible to identify it, for Allah has not distinguished the ambiguous passages by a clear criterion that would allow people to avoid reflecting upon them. This, too, is among their arguments. They say that ambiguity is relative: what is unclear to one person may not be unclear to another.

They said: Allah has also declared that the Quran is clarification, guidance, healing, and light, without excluding any part of it from this description. Yet none of this is possible without understanding its meaning.

They said: Furthermore, it is a grave matter to say that Allah revealed to His Prophet words whose meaning neither he nor Gabriel understood. Indeed, according to these people, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, would relate hadiths concerning the divine attributes, divine decree, resurrection, and similar matters—which they regard as comparable to the ambiguous passages of the Quran—without knowing the meaning of what he was saying. Yet such a thing would not be presumed of even the lowliest person.