The Ambiguous Text (mujmal) and the Clarified Text (mubayyan)
Definition of the mujmal:
• Linguistically, mujmal denotes what is vague or composite.
• In technical usage, it is a text whose intended meaning cannot be grasped without the aid of something else—whether to identify the thing intended, to specify its quality, or to determine its measure.
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An example that requires another text to identify what is meant is the Almighty’s words: “And the divorced women shall wait by themselves for three qurūʾ” (al-Baqara 2:228). The term qurʾ is shared between menstruation and a state of purity; deciding which of the two is intended therefore needs supporting evidence.
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An example that needs clarification of its quality is His statement: “And establish the prayer” (al-Baqara 2:43). The manner in which the prayer is to be established is unknown and requires explanation.
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An example that needs clarification of its measure is the same verse: “And give the zakāh” (al-Baqara 2:43). The amount of obligatory zakāh is unspecified and therefore needs to be determined.
Definition of the mubayyan:
• Linguistically, mubayyan means manifest or made clear.
• Technically, it is a text whose intended meaning is understood, either from the very wording itself or after clarification has occurred.
An example of what is understood from its wording alone is the terms “sky,” “earth,”