The Bible is, in a sense, a long commentary upon itself, and Jesus too gave instruction to his disciples on how they were to understand his teaching, and particularly his parables. The reason in both instances is that the Word of God is not prima facie clear, or, if that sounds like an overbold statement, that it requires explanation. That much is clear from the Quran itself, which issued a warning about the problems and dangers in understanding the words of God, and thus provided an inviting peg upon which later commentators might hang their own theories concerning Quranic exegesis.
He has sent down this Book which contains some clear verses that are categorical [or “are from the Mother of the Book”] and others allegorical [or “ambiguous”]. But those who are twisted in mind look for verses allegorical [or “ambiguous”], seeking deviation and giving them interpretations of their own; but none knows their meaning except God; and those who are steeped in knowledge affirm: “We believe in them as all of them are from the Lord”; but only those who have wisdom understand. (Quran 3:7) The following are the comments of Zamakhshari on these verses, written in 1134 c.e. Categorical verses: namely, those whose diction and meaning are sufficiently clear that they are preserved from the possibility of diVering interpretations and ambiguity. “And others that are ambiguous,” namely, those verses that are ambiguous in that they allow differing interpretations.
The Mother of the Book: that is, the origin of the Book, since the ambiguous verses must be traced back to it and harmonized with it. Examples of such ambiguity include the following: “The vision reaches Him not, but He reaches the vision; He is All-subtle, All-aware” (6:103); or “Upon that day their faces shall be radiant, gazing upon their Lord” (75:22); or “God does not command indecency!” (7:28) compared with “And when We desire to destroy a city, We command its men who live at ease, and they commit ungodliness therein. Then the command is realized against it, and We destroy it utterly” (17:16). If one then asks whether the (meaning of the) entire Quran might not be (clearly) determined, I answer that men would (then) depend on it since it would be so easily accessible, and thus they would neglect what they lack, namely, research and meditation through reflection and inference. If they did that, then they would be neglecting the only way by which we can attain to a knowledge of God and His unity.
Again, the ambiguous verses present a test and a means of distinguishing between those who stand firm in the truth and those who are uncertain regarding it. And great advantages, including the noble sciences and the profit of higher orders of being, are granted by God when scholars stimulate each other and so develop their natural skills, discovering the meanings of the ambiguous verses and harmonizing these with the (clearly) determined verses. Further, if the believer is firmly convinced that no disagreement or self-contradiction can exist in God’s words, and then he notices something that appears at least to be a contradiction, and he then diligently searches out some way of harmonizing it (with the clear verses), treating it according to a uniform principle, and by reflecting on it comes to an insight about himself and other things, and with God’s inspiration he comes to an understanding of the harmony that exists between the ambiguous verses and the (clearly) determined verses, then his certainty grows and the intensity of his conviction increases.
Muhammad among the Prophets
