Ayat Mutashabihat (Verses To Be Interpreted)

METHODOLOGY FOR STUDY OF THE QUR'AN 

by Sheikh Imran Nazar Hosein

www.imranhosein.org

CHAPTER NINE

Ayāt Mutashābihāt

(Verses to be Interpreted)

“He it is who has bestowed upon you from on high this divine scripture, containing verses that are Muhkam, i.e., plain and clear in and by themselves – and these are the essence of the Book – as well as others that are Mutashābih, i.e., allegorical. Now those whose hearts are given to swerving from the truth go after that part of the scripture which is allegorical, seeking to confuse, and seeking to interpret them [in an arbitrary manner]; but none save Allah, as well as those who are firmly-grounded in knowledge, know their final meaning. They (the learned) say: “We believe in it; the whole [of the Book] is from our Lord-God – albeit none takes this to heart save those who are endowed with insight.”  

(Qur’ān, Āle ‘Imrān, 3:7)

The Qur’ān declares (above) that it contains two kinds of verses – the first being Āyāt Muhkamāt, or verses which are plain and clear, and require only to be explained (i.e., Tafsīr), and they are described as Umm alKitāb, or the heart of the book. This would clearly include all verses with legal injunctions concerning Halāl, or legally permissible, and Harām, or legally prohibited, etc. 

The second kind of verses are Ayāt Mutashābihāt, or verses which have to be subjected to T’awīl (i.e., interpretation) in order for their meaning to be discovered. This is the most direct and basic explanation of the term Mutashābih since this explanation is taken directly from the verse of the Qur’ān which introduces the subject. When the Qur’ān goes on to declare that the only ones who know the meaning of the Āyāt Mutashābihāt are Allah, as well as those who are Rāsikhūnā fī al-’Ilm (i.e., firmly grounded in knowledge), and when the verse concludes with the declaration that none receive this message other than Ulul Albāb (i.e., men of insight and understanding), the implication is that a scholar not only has to devote a life-time of effort to study the Qur’ān with both proper methodology as well as Basīrah (spiritual insight), but he also has to receive knowledge directly from Allah Most High (as did Khidr (a) hence, as Muhammad Asad describes it in his commentary to the verse below, he penetrates the utmost depth of mystic insight accessible to man: 

“And found one of Our servants, on whom We had bestowed grace from Ourselves and unto whom We had imparted knowledge [issuing directly] from Our (Divine) presence.”  

(Qur’ān, al-Kahf, 18:65)

A classic example of Ayāt Mutashābihāt can be found in the revelation of the Qur’ān in Sūrah al-Baqarah (verses 183 to 187) which replaced the previous law of fasting in the Torah (i.e., the law of fasting from sunset to sunset with no food, drink or sex during the hours of fasting), with a new law of fasting in which one is allowed to eat and drink and engage in sexual relations during the nights of fasting until the white thread of dawn is distinct from the black thread, at which time the fast would commence, and then continue until nightfall (i.e., until the day has ended): 

“… and eat and drink until you can distinguish the ‘white thread’ of dawn from the ‘black thread’, and then commence the fast (which should continue) until nightfall (i.e., until the day has ended) …” 

(Qur’ān, al-Baqarah, 2:187) 

A companion of the Prophet (s), who understood the command to be literally applied, took two pieces of thread, one white and the other black, and then struggled with them at a time close to dawn to determine the time at which the fast would commence. Since he had difficulties with that process, he took his problem to the Prophet (s) who promptly responded with a T’awīl or interpretation of the ‘white’ and ‘black’ threads (i.e., in the verse) to mean that the fast would commence when the light of the day became distinct from the darkness of the night.  By virtue of the fact that the blessed Prophet interpreted the verse, it was confirmed to be Mutashābih (i.e., a verse which has to be subjected to T’awīl or interpretation). 

Had this interpretation of the verse not been provided, all Muslims, to this day, would have had to arm themselves with two pieces of thread – one white and one black – and would have had to struggle with them every morning of the blessed month of Ramadān to determine the time when the fast began.  

It was not by accident, despite the above, that the verse was revealed by Allah Most High and was transmitted by the Prophet without an interpretation. 

Allah Most High wanted to do three things: 

1. He wanted to provide an unambiguous example of an Āyah Mutashābiha; 

2. He wanted to provoke a clear event in which the blessed Prophet would interpret an Ayah Mutashābih; 

3. He wanted to thus refute a false punctuation of the verse which He knew would eventually be inserted into the Qur’ān by human beings.  

Here is the verse with the (false) punctuation: 

This false punctuation has delivered a meaning to the effect that no one knows the interpretation of these Mutashābihāt verses except Allah (i.e., not even Nabī Muhammad (s). Hence we are left with the ridiculous and obviously false conclusion that Allah Most Wise sent down His last scripture to the last of His Prophets, and appointed him to teach the Book, but there is one part of the Book whose meaning even he, the teacher, does not know, and no one can ever know until the end of the world. What then is the use of such revelation? How can it function as guidance? Can a Wise God do such a foolish thing? 

Allah Most High has knowledge of all things, and so He knew that this false punctuation would be put into the Qur’ān, and hence He created a situation in which Nabī Muhammad (s) could refute the falsehood by himself interpreting an Āyah Mutashābiha of the Qur’ān. 

There are other Ayāt Mutashābihāt in the Qur’ān, i.e., verses which have to be interpreted in order for their meaning to be discovered, and we have discovered that many of them belong to the subject of Ākhir al-Zamān. 

Let us, however, turn our attention to the most difficult and challenging of the Ayāt Mutashābihāt in the Qur’ān, i.e., the Muqatta’āt. 

Source: Sheikh Imran Nazar Hosein

to be continued .....