Topic: The Ayat of the Qur'an: The Muhkam and the Mutashabih

[SadaQa]

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds, Who does not resemble the creation. To Him belong the endowments and the befitting perfections and commendations. I ask Allah to raise the rank of Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, and to protect his nation from that which he feared for it.
Thereafter:

Allah said in the Qur'an:  Surat Al-^Imran, ayah 7 means: [Allah is the One Who has sent down to the Prophet the Book that contains muhkamatayat, which are the foundation of the Book, and other ayat which are mutashabihat.] So, know firmly, that the Qur'an contains two types of ayat:

Muhkamat ayat and Mutashabihat ayat.

[SadaQa]

we will go step by step with this post inshaa Allah in order to explain Muhkamat ayat and Mutashabihat ayat.

baraka Allah fikom for your patients

may Allah reward you for your patience.
ameen

[SadaQa]

Muhkamat ayat:

These are the ayat that have only one meaning according to the rules of the Arabic language or else the meaning of the ayah is clearly known. Examples of this type of ayat are: the saying of Allah, ta^ala:

Suratash-Shura,ayah 11 means: [There is nothing like Him] and His saying, ta^ala:

Suratal-Ikhlas, ayah 4 means: [There is nothing which is equal to Him], and His saying, ta^ala:

SuratMaryam,ayah 65 means: [Do you know of anything which is similar to Him? There is none.]

[SadaQa]

Mutashabihat ayat:

These are the ayat that can have many meanings according to the rules of the Arabic language. Assigning meanings to these ayat requires thorough thinking so that acceptable meanings are given to them.

According to the rules of the Arabic language, these ayat are mutashabihat; so they can have many meanings. If meanings are assigned to them, this must be done in a manner that complies with the language and the Religion, and does not contradict the ayat that are muhkamat. Surely the ayat of the Qur'an do not contradict one another. Likewise, the ahadith (sayings of the Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam,) do not contradict one another, and they do not contradict the ayat of the Qur'an.

[SadaQa]

There are two methodologies for explaining the mutashabihatayat of the Qur'an, and both of them are valid:

The Methodology of the Salaf
The Methodology of the Khalaf

I will explain them inshaa Allah in the next post.
Thank you for your patience

[SadaQa]

The Methodology of the Salaf:

The Salaf were the scholars who lived during the first three centuries after the Hijrah of the Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam. For the most part, this methodology consisted of giving general explanations, since the scholars of the Salaf believed that these ayat have meanings befitting to the perfection of Allah. Rather than saying what these meanings are, they referred these mutashabihatayat to the muhkamatayat. A good example is the saying of Imam ash-Shafi^iyy:  which means: "I believe in what Allah revealed according to the meaning that Allah willed, and in what the Messenger of Allah conveyed according to the meaning that the Messenger of Allah willed." In other words, the proper befitting meanings are not according to the sensuous and physical meanings that delusions would lead to--such as places, shapes, limbs, movements, sitting, colors, directions, smiling, laughter, or any other meanings which are not permissible to be attributed to Allah.
 

Furthermore, the Arabs during these three centuries spoke the Arabic language with a natural disposition and great eloquence. Their understanding of its meanings was so sharp that they did not need to attribute specific meanings to the mutashabihat ayat. Instead, they understood that these ayat have meanings that befit Allah, and that it is impossible that they would have sensuous and physical meanings that do not befit Allah.
 

 Nevertheless, it is well known that some of the scholars of the Salaf did attribute specific meanings to mutashabihat ayat. In his Sahih, in the chapter Tafsirul-Qur'an (the explanation of the Qur'an,) Imam al-Bukhariyy attributed a specific meaning to the term "illa wajhahu" in Surat al­Qasas, ayah 88. He said, "illa mulkahu," i.e., he said that word "wajh"--which is an attribute of Allah--means "Mulk" or "Dominion."

[Sami Yusuf Islam]

may Allah bless your hands my dear brother !!!!!!!


great work !!!!!

[SadaQa]

The Methodology of the Khalaf:

The Khalaf were the scholars who lived after the first three centuries. For the most part, this methodology consisted of giving specific meanings to the mutashabihatayat. The scholars of the Khalaf lived at a time when the people started to lose their natural disposition for the Arabic language. Seeing that the people had become weaker in the language, the scholars of the Khalaf feared that those with perversity in their hearts would read meanings into the mutashabihatayat that do not befit Allah. They feared what is mentioned in SuratAl ^Imran, ayah 7. Allah said:

[Those who have perversity in their hearts, they follow the mutashabihat ayat seeking discord and searching for unbefitting meanings based on their delusions.] In order to protect the creed of Islam, the scholars of the Khalaf followed the example of those scholars among the Salaf who chose to give specific meanings to the mutashabihat ayat. Referring them to the muhkamatayat, they gave specific meanings to the mutashabihatayat in compliance with the language and the Religion. They gave correct, acceptable meanings to the mutashabihatayat. Allah said:
Ayah 7 in Surat Al-^Imran means: [No one knows their true meanings except Allah and those who are firmly rooted in the knowledge of the Religion. The latter say, "We believe in it, all of it is from our Lord" and none will understand the message except men of comprehension."] In relation to this ayah, Ibn ^Abbas said: "I am one of those who are firmly rooted in the knowledge of the Religion." It is well known that Ibn ^Abbas is generally regarded as being foremost among the Companions in the explanation of the meanings of the ayat of the Qur'an.

Among those who have perversity in their hearts are the mushabbihah, those who liken Allah to His creation. The followers of Ibn Taymiyah and Muhammad Ibn ^Abdil­Wahhab are among the group of the mushabbihah. They falsely claim that it is prohibited to assign specific meanings to the mutashabihatayat and especially those that pertain to the attributes of Allah. Moreover, they innovated a devilish rule that assigning specific meanings to these ayat would lead to canceling these attributes of Allah. This claim of theirs leads to interpretations of the ayat of the Qur'an that contradict one another and interpretations of the ahadith of the Prophet that contradict one another and contradict the ayat of the Qur'an. Furthermore, their claim accuses the Islamic scholars among the Salaf and the Khalaf of blasphemy for denying the attributes of Allah. This would include: Ibn ^Abbas, Sufyan ath­Thawriyy, Mujahid, Sa^id Ibn Jubayr, Malik, Ahmad, al­Bukhariyy, an-Nawawiyy, Ibn Rajab al­Hanbaliyy, Ibn-ul-Jawziyy, Ibn Hajar, al­Bayhaqiyy, Abu Fadl at-Tamimiyy, ^Abdul-Qahir al-Baghdadiyy, the linguist and scholar of hadithMurtada az-Zabidiyy, and others.

Foremost, by this claim of theirs they are contradicting the Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam. Al-Bukhariyy related that the Prophet made a du^a' (a supplication) for Ibn ^Abbas. The Prophet said:

<<O Allah, teach him the Knowledge of Hadith and the explanation of the Qur'an.>>

In the chapter, Tafsiral­Qur'an, (Explanation of the meaning of the Qur'an), Imam al-Bukhariyy says that the term wajhahu in Suratal­Qasas,ayah 88, means "His Dominion." However, those mushabbihah who liken Allah to the creation say, "We do not interpret, but rather we go by the literal meaning," and hence (they say) wajhahu means "His face."

Ibn Hajar al-^Asqalaniyy, in his book, Al­Fath (an explanation of the meaning of Sahih al­Bukhariyy), Volume 6, page 39-40, said: " ..... in reference to al-Bukhariyy's saying that the attribute of Allah, ad-dahik, means 'mercy,' it is closer to say that it means 'acceptance of deeds.' Yet, the mushabbihah insist on taking the literal meaning, and they say that Allah smiles, or laughs.

 The scholars of the Salaf explained the term saq by 'hardship,' and the ayah to mean 'a day of anguish and hardship.' This explanation is known to have been given by Ibn ^Abbas, Mujahid, Ibrahim an Nakh^iyy, Qatadah, Sa^id Ibn Jubayr, and a multiple of scholars. Both Imam al-Fakhr ar­Raziyy in his Explanation of the Qur'an, Volume 30, page 94 and Imam al-Bayhaqiyy in his books, Al-'Asma' was­Sifat, (page 245) and Fath-al-Bari, (Volume 13, page 428) related this explanation from Ibn ^Abbas. Ibn Qulayb also related that about Sa^id Ibn Jubayr who took his knowledge from ^Abdullah Ibn ^Abbas and Ibn ^Umar. Yet, the mushabbihah insist on taking the literal meaning and attribute 'the shin' to Allah, by saying saq literally means 'shin.'
Imam Mujahid, the student of Ibn ^Abbas, said that the word wajh means 'qiblah,' i.e., the direction of prayers during the voluntary prayers while traveling and riding on an animal. Yet, the mushabbihah insist on taking the literal meaning; they say the term, wajh, means 'face.'

Similarly, if ayah 12 in Suratat-Tahrim:  was taken literally, it would mean that Allah blew part of His Soul into ^Isa (Jesus.).) However, the scholars said that this ayah means: [Allah ordered Jibril to blow into ^Isa the soul which is honorable to Allah.]

[SadaQa]

i will continue to explain inshaa Allah step by step in the next post inshaa Allah.

[Advisor]

may Allah bless your hands my dear brother !!!!!!!

 :aameen: