they would not understand it, and He places deafness in their ears. If the people of knowledge and faith likewise had veils over their hearts that kept them from grasping any part of it, they would share the idolaters’ condition.

His words, ‘that they may understand it,’ apply to the whole Quran. It follows that Allah wants the Quran to be comprehended. Hence al-Hasan al-Basri said, “Allah has not revealed a single verse except that He loves people to know for whom it was sent down and what He meant by it; He made no exception—whether the verse is ambiguous or plain.”

Mujāhid said, “I presented the entire mushaf to Ibn ʿAbbās from beginning to end several times, pausing at every verse to ask him about it.”

Thus Ibn ʿAbbās—the scholar of this community and one of those who used to say, “No one knows its interpretation except Allah”—would nevertheless answer Mujāhid regarding every verse in the Quran.