''Muḥkam'' and ''Mutashābih'' ( ar, محکم و متشابه) are
Arabic words that are used in the
Qurʾān. ''Muhkam'' can be translated as "
decisive" and ''Mutashabih'' as "
allegorical".
Quranic passage
"He it is Who has revealed the Book to you; some of its
verses are decisive (Muhkam), they are the basis of the Book, and others are allegorical (Mutashabih); then as for those in whose hearts there is perversity they follow the part of it which is allegorical, seeking to mislead and seeking to give it (their own) interpretation. but none knows its interpretation except
Allah
Allah (; ar, الله, translit=Allāh, ) is the common Arabic word for God. In the English language, the word generally refers to God in Islam. The word is thought to be derived by contraction from '' al- ilāh'', which means "the god", an ...
, and those who are firmly rooted in knowledge say: We believe in it, it is all from our Lord; and none do mind except those having understanding."
Commentary
It was reported from ʿ
Alī
ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...
that he stated, "
hose rooted in knowledgeare the ones whom knowledge has protected from plunging
nto the interpretation of the Qurʾānaccording to some whim (hawā) or with set arguments (ḥujaj maḍrūba) without
wareness ofthe unseen
ysteries(ghuyūb)."
See also
*
Those firmly rooted in knowledge
Those firmly rooted in knowledge ( ar, الراسخون في العلم) is a recurring theme in the Qur'an and Sunnah. This term is of special interest for the Shi'a.
The term and its like is used in Al-Imran and .
A crux in 3:7
This ver ...
Notes
{{Reflist, 2
Quranic exegesis
Arabic words and phrases