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'He it is who has sent down to thee the Book: in it are verses basic or fundamental (of established meaning); they are the foundation of the book: others are allegorical, that is those in whose hearts is perversity follow the part thereof that is allegorical, seeking discord and searching for its hidden meanings, but no one knows its hidden meanings except God and those who are firmly grounded in knowledge say: "We believe in the book; the whole of it is from our Lord;" and none will grasp the message except men of understanding' (Al-Qur'an 3: 7). Here muhkamat and mutashabihat are described as follows: muhkama: Something of which knowledge was desired. Something with only one dimension. Something sufflcient in meaning, requiring no further explanation. mutashabihat: Something known to Allah only. Something with more than one dimension. Something requiring further explanation. Hence in the Qur'an those ayat dealing with halal and haram, punishments, inheritance, promise and threat, etc.belong to the muhkamat, while those concerning the attributes of Allah, the true nature of the resurrection, judgement and life after death etc. belong to the mutashabihat. General and Specific Some verses of the Qur'an are of a very wide, general application (al-'am), e.g. including all human beings, or all Muslims etc. Other ayat are restricted in their application to certain special circumstances only (al-khas). 'Every soul shall have a taste of death' (Al-Qur'an 3: 185) 'Let there be no obscenity, nor wickedness nor wrangling in the Hajj' (Al-Qur'an 2:187). 'God (thus) directs you as regards your children (inheritance)' (Al-Qur'an 4: 11). Furthermore one also distinguishes between 'general verses' which remain general, and others which intend a specific meaning. 'Pilgrimage thereto is a duty man owes to God- those who can afford the journey' (Al-Qur'an 3: 97). Of the 'special meanings' there are several varieties. Usually some kind of condition or limitation is specified. 'Your step-daughters under your guardianship, born of your wives to whom you have gone in' (Al-Qur'an 4: 23). 'It is prescribed when death approaches any one of you, if you leave any goods that he make a bequest to parents and next of kin' (Al-Qur'an 2: 180). 'So keep away from the women in their courses, and do not approach them until they are clean' (Al-Qur'an 2: 222). 'Free' and 'Bound' Verses Some of the ahkam verses are valid, 'free' (mutlaq) from any conditions or circumstances, while others are 'bound' (muqayyad) to special conditions or situations, and apply only therein.
'If it is beyond your means, fast for three days, that is expiation for the wrath ye have sworn' (Al-Qur'an 5: 92). It is free, i.e. left to one's discretion whether to fast three days consecutively or with interruptions. 'And if ye find no water then take yourselves clean sand or earth and rub therewith your faces and hands' (Al-Qur'an 5: 6). [Some say this aya is 'bound', as the same aya mentioning wudu' instructs washing of the hands 'to the elbows'; others say it is 'free'.] 'Literal' and 'Understood' Meanings The meaning of certain ayat is derived from the literal wording (mantdq) while that of others is derived from what is understood (mafhum) by them: Of the literal understanding there are several kinds. The first concerns a clear text, i.e. a text clear and without ambiguity. 'But if he cannot afford it, he should fast three days during the Hajj and seven days on his return, making ten days in all' (Al-Qur'an 2: 196). In other cases the text may be somewhat ambiguous in its expression but obvious as far as the meaning is concerned. 'And do not approach them until they are clean' (Al-Qur'an 2: 222). The Arabic word tatahharna may refer to the end of the woman's menstrual period, or the completion of the bath after the period; the second being more obvious. [Qattan, M.: mabahith It 'ulum al-qur'an, Riyadh. 1971.] Still other verses imply a meaning through the context, although the wording itself is not clear. 'And out of kindness reward to them the wing of humility' (Al-Qur'an 17: 24). This applies to parents, and not to all human beings in general, as the context of this verse suggests. Al Muqatta'at The so-called 'abbreviated letters' are an important section of the mutashabihat' [Itqan, II, p.8f. A summary of the orientalists' efforts on this topic is in Jeffery. Arthur: The Mystic Letters of the Quran, MW, 14 (1924), pp. 247-60. Some of the orientalists suggested that the letters are abbreviations of the names of the various Companions who used to write the Qur'an for Muhammad. Still others say that the letters are simply symbols employed to distinguish the Sura from others before the now common names were introduced. Sura Ta Ha would be a case in point. This is also based on some Muslim scholars' views (Itqan, 11, p.10). Watt, the Edinburgh priest-orientalist, writes 'We end where we began; the letters are mysterious, and have so far baffled interpretation' (Watt, M.: Bell's Introduction to the Qur'an, Edinburgh, 1977, p.64).] in sofar as their meanings are not known. The word is derived from the root 'qata'a' - to cut, and means 'what is cut', and also 'what is abbreviated'. In technical language the word is used for certain letters found at the beginning of several suras of the Qur'an, called 'the abbreviated letters'. Their Occurrence There are fourteen such letters occurring in various combinations at the beginning of 29 suras. The following is a list of their occurrence and distribution in the Qur'an: Alif Lam Ra: 10, 11, 12, 14, 15. Alif Lam Mim: 2, 3, 29, 30, 31, 32. Alif Lam Mim Ra': 13. Alif Lam Mim Sad: 7 Ha Mim: 40, 41, 43, 44, 45, 46. Sad: 38.
Page 2 and 3: An Introduction to the Sciences of
Page 4 and 5: CHAPTER 1: The Qur'an and Revelatio
Page 6 and 7: Vol. 3, p. 631. Another reference t
Page 8 and 9: The ahadith from or about the Proph
Page 10 and 11: From the lauh al-mahfuz, the 'well-
Page 12 and 13: guidance arose. Out of considera
Page 14 and 15: Another well-known case concerns Mu
Page 16 and 17: The Qur'an written during the Proph
Page 18 and 19: The order and arrangement was of co
Page 20 and 21: 'A'isha, Salim, Umm Salama, 'Ubaid
Page 22 and 23: Examples: To further illustrate, he
Page 24 and 25: Abu Bakr instructs Zaid b. Thabit t
Page 26 and 27: Although the i'jam (diacritical poi
Page 28 and 29: The manuscript was afterwards retur
Page 30 and 31: Club Francais du Livre, n.d., p.XLI
Page 32 and 33: of knowing the language, as in the
Page 34 and 35: Rusulan mubashshirina wa Apostles w
Page 38 and 39: Ta Sin: 27. Ta Sin Mim: 26, 28. Ta
Page 40 and 41: 52, 67, 69, 70, 78, 79, 82, 84, The
Page 42 and 43: The historical situation at the tim
Page 44 and 45: The verse in question is concerned
Page 46 and 47: 'They ask you (O Muhammad) concerni
Page 48 and 49: The widow, according to this verse,
Page 50 and 51: elationships between the verses in
Page 52 and 53: dhalika bi-anna minhum siddiqina wa
Page 54 and 55: The 'seven readings' were standardi
Page 56 and 57: CHAPTER 6 : Interpreting the Text T
Page 58 and 59: A case in point is the detailed exp
Page 60: The Iraq Group There were also many

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