سورة آل عمران

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) was asked about the muhkam (decisive) and the mutashabih (allegorical). He replied: "The muhkam is that which is acted upon, and the mutashabih is that whose meaning is unclear to the one who does not know it."

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Whoever acts by analogy (qiyas) is destroyed and has destroyed [others], and whoever gives fatwa to the people while he does not know the abrogating (nasikh) from the abrogated (mansukh), and the muhkam (decisive) from the mutashabih (allegorical), is destroyed and has destroyed [others].

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Abu Basir said: I heard Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) saying: "Indeed the Quran is a restrainer and a commander; it commands going to Paradise and restrains from the Fire of Hell, and within it there are muhkam (decisive) and mutashabih (allegorical) verses. As for the muhkamat, they are verses which are believed in and acted upon and from which admonition and lesson are taken; and the mutashabih verses are those which are believed in but not acted upon."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) was asked about the interpretation of the muhkam verses of the Book of Allah. He said: "The muhkam verse which nothing has abrogated is the word of Allah the Mighty and Majestic: هُوَ الَّذِی أَنْزَلَ عَلَیْکَ الْکِتابَ مِنْهُ آیاتٌ مُحْکَماتٌ هُنَّ أُمُّ الْکِتابِ وَ أُخَرُ مُتَشابِهاتٌ [He it is Who has revealed to you the Book; some of its verses are decisive, they are the mother of the Book, and others are allegorical] ... And people were destroyed regarding the mutashabih because they did not understand its meaning and did not know its reality, and consequently they set for it a meaning from themselves and by their own opinions, and by this act they considered themselves free from asking the successors of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), and they cast the word of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) behind their backs and [did not act upon it]."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Some people speak about the Quran without any knowledge and learning, while Allah the Blessed and Exalted says: هُوَ الَّذی أَنْزَلَ عَلَیْکَ الْکِتابَ مِنْهُ آیاتٌ مُحْکَماتٌ هُنَّ أُمُّ الْکِتابِ وَ أُخَرُ مُتَشابِهاتٌ فَأَمَّا الَّذینَ فی قُلُوبِهِمْ زَیْغٌ فَیَتَّبِعُونَ ما تَشابَهَ مِنْهُ ابْتِغاءَ الْفِتْنَةِ وَ ابْتِغاءَ تَأْویلِهِ وَ ما یَعْلَمُ تَأْویلَهُ إِلَّا اللهُ [He it is Who has revealed the Book to you; some of its verses are decisive, they are the mother of the Book, and others are allegorical; 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]. In light of this verse, the abrogated verses are part of the mutashabihat, and the abrogating verses are part of the muhkamat.

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): The muhkam (decisive) verses of the Quran are those verses whose meaning is contained within the revealed verses themselves, but the mutashabih (allegorical) verses are those verses in the Quran whose wording is one and whose meanings are various.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): The Book of Allah (the Quran) is on four levels: expression (ibarah), allusion (isharah), subtleties (lata'if), and realities (haqa'iq). The expression is for the common people, the allusion is for the elite, the subtleties are for the friends of Allah (awliya), and the realities are for the prophets (peace be upon them).

Imam Askari (peace be upon him): It is not so that every allegorical and ambiguous verse can serve as a proof and evidence over the decisive verses which we have been commanded to take and follow.

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): Abu Hayyun said: Imam Rida (peace be upon him) said: Whoever refers the mutashabih (allegorical) of the Quran back to its muhkam (decisive) has been guided to a straight path. Then he said: "In our narrations too, just like the Quran, there exists muhkam and mutashabih, so refer their mutashabih back to their muhkam, and do not follow their mutashabih apart from their muhkam, for then you will go astray."

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): What is meant by zaygh is doubt.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): I am the city of knowledge, and in another place he said: "I am the city of wisdom and Ali (peace be upon him) is also in that city; now whoever seeks wisdom or knowledge must enter through its gate and acquire knowledge and wisdom." All these matters that have been mentioned are stated explicitly in the Book of Allah, and there are those who know its interpretation. Now whoever turns away from them and goes toward those who consider themselves scholars, and follows those whose hearts are deviant, who pursue the mutashabih (allegorical) verses in order to stir up sedition and seek [an incorrect] interpretation of it, becomes afflicted with doubt and, without proof or evidence, destroys himself and leads others to destruction as well. They suffer loss and derive no benefit from their efforts.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): Allah the Mighty and Majestic has said: "Whoever interprets My speech according to his own opinion and view has not believed in Me"!

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): O group of people! Reflect upon the Quran and understand its decisive verses well, and do not follow the mutashabih (allegorical) verses. By Allah, no one will ever clarify for you its difficulties and its interpretation except this very one whose hand I take and raise up toward myself and whose arm I lift, and I declare to you that whoever I am his mawla, this Ali (peace be upon him) is his mawla — that is, Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him), who is my brother and my successor, and his wilayah has been sent down upon me from Allah the Exalted.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): No verse of the Quran was revealed to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) except that he recited it to me and dictated it to me, and I wrote it in my own hand, and he taught me its ta'wil (interpretation) and its tafsir (exegesis), its nasikh (abrogating) and mansukh (abrogated), its muhkam (decisive) and mutashabih (allegorical), and its khass (specific) and 'amm (general).

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): وَ الرَّاسِخُونَ فِی الْعِلْمِ [And those firmly rooted in knowledge] — they are the very household of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family).

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): وَ الرَّاسِخُونَ فِی الْعِلْمِ [and those who are firmly rooted in knowledge] refers to Ali (peace be upon him) and the other Imams (peace be upon them).

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): We are وَ الرَّاسِخُونَ فِی الْعِلْمِ [those who are firmly rooted in knowledge].

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): We are وَ الرَّاسِخُونَ فِی الْعِلْمِ [those who are firmly rooted in knowledge] and we know its interpretation.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Where are those who claim that وَ الرَّاسِخُونَ فِی الْعِلْمِ [and those firmly rooted in knowledge] are others besides us, out of the lies, oppression, and jealousy they harbour toward us?

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): There is no verse in the Quran except that it has an outer and an inner meaning, and there is no letter of the Quran that does not have limits, and every limit has a starting point in the outer and inner of the Quran and its interpretation, وَ ما یَعْلَمُ تَأْویلَهُ إِلَّا اللهُ وَ الرّاسِخُونَ فِی الْعِلْمِ [and none knows its interpretation except Allah and those firmly rooted in knowledge] — and we, the family of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), are they.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Light, in several places in the Torah, the Injil and the Quran, means the proof (hujjah) of Allah the Mighty and Majestic over His servants, and Allah's proof is the infallible (ma'sum). وَ الرّاسِخُونَ فِی الْعِلْمِ یَقُولُونَ آمَنّا بِهِ کُلٌّ مِنْ عِنْدِ رَبِّنا [And those firmly rooted in knowledge say: We believe in it; all is from our Lord]. All the infallible Imams are the bearers of the Book of Allah the Mighty and Majestic, its guardians and its interpreters — those whom Allah has described in His Book, saying: وَ ما یَعْلَمُ تَأْوِیلَهُ إِلَّا اللهُ وَ الرَّاسِخُونَ فِی الْعِلْمِ یَقُولُونَ آمَنَّا بِهِ کُلٌّ مِنْ عِنْدِ رَبِّنا [And none knows its interpretation except Allah and those firmly rooted in knowledge; they say: We believe in it; all is from our Lord]. And they are the ones described, by means of whom Allah illuminated the lands and by means of whom He guided the servants.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Sulaym ibn Qays said: Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) came to us and said: وَ الرَّاسِخُونَ فِی الْعِلْمِ [and those firmly rooted in knowledge] — they are not one person. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) is one of them; Allah taught it to him and he taught it to me, and it will continue in our descendants until the Day of Resurrection. Then he recited this verse: بَقِیَّهٌ مِمَّا تَرَکَ آلُ مُوسی وَ آلُ هارُونَ [And a relic of what the family of Musa and the family of Harun left behind] (al-Baqarah/248). I am to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) as Harun (peace be upon him) was to Musa (peace be upon him), and knowledge is in our descendants until the Hour arises.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): After that, He made obedience to those in authority — who are the guardians of His religion — obligatory upon the people, just as He had made obedience to the Messenger (peace be upon him and his family) obligatory, and He said: "Obey Allah! And obey the Messenger of Allah and those in authority [the successors of the Prophet]!" (al-Nisa/59). Then, after this, He described the guardians of the affair who are among the people of knowledge and made their standing clear, saying in His Book: "Whereas if they had referred it to the Messenger and to the leaders who possess sufficient discernment, those who draw out its roots would have come to know of it." (al-Nisa/83). From here it is clear that the people are incapable of the ta'wil (interpretation) of the Book, and only those in authority can derive it, because they are the ones firmly rooted in knowledge and are the trustworthy source for the ta'wil of the Qur'an. And in the Qur'an He said: وَ ما یَعْلَمُ تَأْوِیلَهُ إِلَّا اللهُ وَ الرَّاسِخُونَ فِی الْعِلْمِ [And none knows its interpretation except Allah and those firmly rooted in knowledge]. And elsewhere He said: "Rather these are clear verses [preserved] in the breasts of those who have been given knowledge." (al-Ankabut/49). Seeking knowledge and virtue is better than worship. And Allah says: "[Yes] the truth is such: from among Allah's servants, only the learned fear Him." (Fatir/28). And through knowledge they became worthy, in the sight of Allah, of the name siddiq (truthful); Allah named them truthful and made obedience to them obligatory upon all His servants.

Imam al-Jawad (peace be upon him): al-Hasan ibn Abbas ibn Harish narrates from Imam al-Jawad (peace be upon him) who said: Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: "If they ask: 'Who are al-Rasikhuna fi al-'Ilm (those firmly rooted in knowledge)?', say: 'The one in whose knowledge there is no disagreement.' If they ask: 'Who is that?', say: 'The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) possessed this knowledge.'"

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Abu Ubayda said: I asked Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) about this verse: "Alif Lam Mim, the Romans have been defeated! It happened in a nearby land." (al-Rum/3). The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "O Aba Ubayda! This statement has a ta'wil (interpretation) which none possesses except Allah and al-Rasikhuna fi al-'Ilm (those firmly rooted in knowledge) from the family of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)."

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): The one firmly rooted in knowledge is he whose heart is upright, whose tongue speaks truthfully, whose oath is true and firm, and whose private parts are chaste.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him) [said in a sermon]: Know that those firmly rooted in knowledge are those whom Allah has made independent of forcing their way into the barriers placed before the unseen. So they became bound to acknowledgement and confession of all that whose interpretation and explanation they did not know from the hidden and veiled unseen, and they said: آمَنَّا بِهِ کُلٌّ مِنْ عِنْدِ رَبِّنا [We believe in it, all of it is from our Lord]. So Allah the Mighty and Majestic praised their acknowledgement of their inability to grasp what they did not encompass in knowledge, and He named their abandoning of delving into that which He had not obliged them to investigate as "rusukh" (being rooted) — and rusukh means being firm, stable and steadfast. So limit yourself to this, and do not measure the greatness of Allah by the measure of your intellect, for you would be among those who perish.

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): Aba Salt al-Harawi said: When al-Ma'mun gathered the leading thinkers of the people of Islam and the adherents of the religions of the Jews, Christians, Magians, Sabians and others to debate with Ali ibn Musa al-Rida (peace be upon him), whoever rose up, he refuted, as though a stone had been placed in his mouth. Ali ibn Muhammad ibn al-Jahm came forward and said: 'O son of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! Do you hold to the infallibility of the prophets?' He said: 'Yes!' He said: 'Then what will you do with the words of Allah the Mighty and Majestic: [Yes] وَ عَصی آدَمُ رَبَّهُ فَغَوی [And Adam disobeyed his Lord, and was deprived of His reward] (Ta-Ha/121), and the words of Allah: وَ ذَا النُّونِ إِذْ ذَهَبَ مُغاضِباً فَظَنَّ أَنْ لَنْ نَقْدِرَ عَلَیْهِ [And Dhun-Nun (Yunus), [remember] when he went away angry [from among his people] and thought that We would not straiten him] (al-Anbiya/87), and the words of Allah about Yusuf (peace be upon him): وَ لَقَدْ هَمَّتْ بِهِ وَ هَمَّ بِها [That woman resolved upon him, and Yusuf also resolved upon her] (Yusuf/24), and His words about Dawud (peace be upon him): وَ ظَنَّ داوُدُ أَنَّما فَتَنَّاهُ [We tested him [with this affair]] (Sad/24), and His words about the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): وَ تُخْفِی فِی نَفْسِکَ مَا اللهُ مُبْدِیهِ وَ تَخْشَی النَّاسَ وَ اللهُ أَحَقُّ أَنْ تَخْشاهُ [You were concealing in your heart what Allah would disclose, and you feared the people, while Allah is more deserving that you should fear Him] (al-Ahzab/37).' Our master Imam Rida (peace be upon him) said: 'Woe to you, O Ali! Fear Allah! Do not attribute indecencies to the prophets of Allah, and do not interpret the Book of Allah the Mighty and Majestic according to your own opinion! Allah the Mighty and Majestic has said: وَ ما یَعْلَمُ تَأْوِیلَهُ إِلَّا اللهُ وَ الرَّاسِخُونَ فِی الْعِلْمِ [And none knows its interpretation except Allah and those who are firmly rooted in knowledge].'

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): The Quran has particular and general, decisive and allegorical, abrogating and abrogated verses, and those firmly rooted in knowledge know it.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) is the foremost of those firmly rooted in knowledge. Allah the Mighty and Majestic has taught him all of the revelation and interpretation that He sent down upon him. There is nothing that Allah sent down upon him whose interpretation He did not teach him. His successors after him also know all of it.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him), in his argument against an unbeliever who asked him about the ambiguous verses of the Quran, said: "...[Imam Ali (peace be upon him)] answered him: Allah has appointed worthy ones for knowledge and, through this saying of His, has made obedience to them obligatory upon the servants: 'Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger of Allah and the ulul-amr (the successors of the Prophet)!' (al-Nisa/59), and through this saying of His: 'Whereas if they had referred it to the Messenger and to the leaders who have sufficient power of discernment, those among them who draw conclusions would have known it.' (al-Nisa/83), and through this saying of His: 'Refrain from disobeying Allah's command, and be with the truthful!' (al-Tawbah/119), and through this saying of His: وَ ما یَعْلَمُ تَأْوِیلَهُ إِلَّا الله وَ الرَّاسِخُونَ فِی الْعِلْمِ [And none knows its interpretation except Allah and those firmly rooted in knowledge], and through this saying of His: 'And enter the houses through their doors.' (al-Baqarah/189) — and these houses are the houses of knowledge which the prophets (peace be upon them) placed as a trust, and its doors are their successors. So every act of the acts of good that is carried out by other than the successors, and is not performed in accordance with their covenants, their limits, their laws, their ways and the marks of their religion, is rejected and unacceptable, and its people — even if the description of faith encompasses them — are in the station of disbelief. Then Allah divided His speech into three parts: one part He made such that both the learned and the ignorant know it; and a part which none knows except one whose mind is clear and pure, whose perception and understanding are precise, and whose power of discernment is sound — and these are among those whose hearts Allah has opened to Islam; and a part which none knows except Allah, His angels and those firmly rooted in knowledge. And Allah assigned a part of the knowledge of the Book exclusively to this group so that the people of falsehood, who have laid hold of the inheritance of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) — which is the knowledge of Allah's Book — cannot claim what Allah has not appointed for them, and so that they would be compelled to follow the one who is the guardian of their affair; yet they, out of arrogance, did not obey him."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Fudayl ibn Yasar said: I asked Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) about this narration: "There is no verse in the Quran but that it has an outer and an inner [meaning], and there is no letter in it but that it has a definition, and every definition has an entry point." I asked: "What does he mean by this saying that 'the verses of the Quran have an outer and an inner [meaning]'?" The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "What is meant by its outer and inner is its interpretation (ta'wil). Some of it has already occurred, and some of it has not yet occurred. The Quran flows just as the sun and the moon flow; whenever the time for any part of it arrives, it occurs." Allah the Exalted said: وَ ما یَعْلَمُ تَأْوِیلَهُ إِلَّا اللهُ وَ الرَّاسِخُونَ فِی الْعِلْمِ [And none knows its interpretation except Allah and those firmly rooted in knowledge]; we know it, and we are among those firmly rooted in knowledge.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Ali ibn Hatim narrates from Ibrahim ibn Ali, from Ahmad ibn Muhammad Ansari, from Hasan ibn Ali Alawi, from Abu Hakim Zahid in Egypt, from Ahmad ibn Abd Allah: Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) was passing by the courtyard of Bayt Allah al-Haram when he saw a man performing his prayer beautifully. The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "O so-and-so, do you know the ta'wil (inner interpretation) of your prayer?" That man said: "O cousin of the best of Allah's creation! Is there any ta'wil for prayer other than devotional worship?" Ali (peace be upon him) said: "O man! Know that Allah the Blessed and Exalted did not send the noble Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) with any matter of the matters except that it has mutashabih (allegorical), ta'wil (inner interpretation) and tanzil (outward revelation), and all of it is devotional. So whoever does not know the ta'wil of his prayer, his prayer is a deception, and in addition to that, it is deficient and incomplete."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): The comprehensive collections of tafsir and exposition, which are their gathering and container, are cut off short of penetrating into His knowledge — which is the very essence — without their being firmly rooted in it and immersed therein.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): وَ الَّذِینَ لَا یَعْلَمُونَ تَأْوِیلَهُ [And those who do not know its ta'wil] — if anyone among them claims to be a scholar, Allah has answered them by saying: یَقُولُونَ آمَنَّا بِهِ کُلٌّ مِّنْ عِندِ رَبِّنَا [They say: We believe in it, all of it is from our Lord].

Imam Kazim (peace be upon him): O Hisham! Indeed Allah the Blessed and Exalted has given glad tidings to the people of intellect and understanding in His Book ... and He has mentioned the possessors of intellect with the best mention and adorned them with the best adornment, and said: Allah gives knowledge and wisdom to whomever He wills and deems worthy, and whoever is given knowledge has been given abundant good, and none grasp these truths or take heed except those of understanding. (al-Baqarah/269) And He said: وَ الرَّاسِخُونَ فِی الْعِلْمِ یَقُولُونَ آمَنَّا بِهِ کُلٌّ مِنْ عِنْدِ رَبِّنا وَ ما یَذَّکَّرُ إِلَّا أُولُوا الْأَلْبابِ [And those firmly rooted in knowledge say: We believe in it, all of it is from our Lord; and none take heed except those of understanding].