Rather, this entire question was coined by later factions in the course of their debates over the verses concerning the divine attributes, predestination, and similar matters. They gave it the title,

“Is it permissible for the Quran to contain passages whose meaning no one knows?”

—or, in another formulation—

“Have we been obligated merely to recite its letters without understanding?”

Some groups answered in the affirmative, clinging to the outward sense of this verse and to the principle that Allah may test His servants however He wills. Other groups rejected the idea, using that rejection as a pretext for their corrupt reinterpretations, which are nothing but a distortion of the words from their proper places.

In truth, error predominates in both camps: the first fall short in grasping the Quran, resembling those of whom it was said, “Among them are unlettered people who know the Book only through wishful thinking” [Q 2:78]; while the second are aggressors akin to those who twist words away from their contexts.