Al-Qawaid al-Hisan li-Tafsir al-Quran - Abd al-Rahman al-Sadi’ - (60)

Al-Qawaid al-Hisan li-Tafsir al-QuranAbd al-Rahman al-Sadi’

Principle Twenty: The Qur’an is, from one perspective, wholly muhkam (decisive), from another wholly mutashabih (ambiguous/consistent), and from a third perspective some of it is muhkam and some of it is mutashabih.

Allah, exalted is He, has applied each of these three descriptions to His Book. He calls it muhkam in several verses, among them: “A Book whose verses have been perfected and then set forth in detail by One who is All-Wise, All-Aware” (Hud 11:1). This means that the Qur’an is perfected to the highest degree and flawlessly ordered: all of its reports are true and reliable, free of contradiction or disparity; all of its commands bring goodness, blessing, and reform; and all of its prohibitions relate only to evils, harms, base character, and corrupt deeds. That is the aspect of its being muhkam.

He likewise describes it as mutashabih in His statement: “Allah has sent down the finest discourse, a Book consistent (mutashabihan)” (al-Zumar 39:23). That is, the Qur’an resembles itself in beauty, truth, and rightness, presenting beneficial meanings that refine the intellect, purify the heart, and set affairs aright. Its wording is the finest wording, and its meanings are the finest meanings.

He also says: “In it are verses that are muhkam—they are the foundation of the Book—and others are mutashabih” (Āl ʿImrān 3:7). Thus He affirms that part of the Qur’an is of one type and part of another, and that those firmly grounded in knowledge refer the mutashabih back to the muhkam, so the whole becomes muhkam. They declare, “All of it is from our Lord” (Āl ʿImrān 3:7), meaning that whatever comes from Him cannot contain contradiction; any passage that seems ambiguous in one place is clarified by another that is decisive, whereby knowledge is attained and the difficulty removed.

This principle has many illustrations, including the previously mentioned texts affirming that He is capable of all things; that whatever Allah wills comes to pass and whatever He does not will cannot occur; and that He guides whom He wills and leads astray whom He wills.

If someone, therefore, should find this perplexing and imagine—contrary to wisdom—that His guidance or misguidance occurs arbitrarily, without any cause—

القاعدة العشرون: القرآن كله محكم باعتبار، وكله متشابه باعتبار، وبعضه محكم وبعضه متشابه باعتبار ثالث وقد وصفه الله تعالى بكل واحدة من هذه الأوصاف الثلاث. فوصفه بأنه محكم في عدة آيات، وأنه: ﴿أُحْكِمَتْ آيَاتُهُ ثُمَّ فُصِّلَتْ مِن لَّدُنْ حَكِيمٍ خَبِيرٍ﴾ [هود: ١] ومعنى ذلك أنه في غاية الإحكام ونهاية الانتظام، فأخباره كلها حق وصدق، لا تناقض فيها ولااختلاف، وأوامره كلها خير وبركة وصلاح، ونواهيه متعلقة بالشرور والأضرار والأخلاق الرذيلة والأعمال السيئة فهذا إحكامه. ووصفه بأنه متشابه في قوله من سورة الزمر: ﴿اللَّهُ نَزَّلَ أَحْسَنَ الْحَدِيثِ كِتَاباً مُتَشَابِهاً﴾ [الزمر: ٢٣] أي: متشابها في الحسن والصدق والحق، ووروده بالمعاني النافعة المزكية للعقول، المطهرة للقلوب، المُصلحة للأحوال، فألفاظه أحسن الألفاظ ومعانيه أحسن المعاني. ووصفه بأن ﴿مِنْهُ آيَاتٌ مُحْكَمَاتٌ هُنَّ أُمُّ الْكِتَابِ وَأُخَرُ مُتَشَابِهَاتٌ﴾ [آل عمران: ٧] فهنا وصفه بأن بعضه هكذا وبعضه هكذا، وأن أهل العلم بالكتاب يردون المتشابه منه إلى المحكم، فيصير كله محكماً ويقولون: ﴿كُلٌّ مِنْ عِنْدِ رَبِّنَا﴾ [آل عمران: ٧] أي: وما كان من عنده فلا تناقض فيه، فما اشتبه منه في موضع، فسره الموضع الآخر المحكم، فحصل العلم وزال الإشكال. ولهذا النوع أمثلة؛ منها: ما تقدم من الإخبار بأنه على كل شيء قدير، وأن ما شاء الله كان وما لم يشأ لم يكن، وأنه يهدي من يشاء ويضل من يشاء. فإذا اشتبهت على من ظن به خلاف الحكمة، وأن هدايته وإضلاله يكون جزافاً لغير سبب