What is the criterion for reconciling the ambiguous and the clear?

Question : The criterion for the ambiguous and the clear: you will find that some scholars bring up an issue and rule that between two hadiths, the ambiguous one is to be acted upon according to the clear one. Another scholar will say there is no ambiguity or confusion. So what is the criterion that clarifies the judgment?

Answer : If you go back to the book *Taqrib al-Tadmuriyyah*, you will know the criterion. Ambiguity is of two types: absolute and relative. Absolute means it is truly ambiguous, hidden from every person, such as the realities of what Allah has informed us about Himself, the Hereafter, and every unseen matter. Even the reality of the human soul is not known; we do not know what substance it is made of. We call this absolute ambiguity, and no one can claim knowledge of it. Relative ambiguity is a broad field; you will find that a certain verse, for example, is ambiguous to one person but not to another, or a certain hadith is ambiguous to one person but not to another. It is a broad field. Now, when a verse or hadith is presented to students of knowledge, some answer correctly, some answer incorrectly, and some guess. Absolute ambiguity is that which is hidden from all people, and this only occurs in the realities of what Allah has informed us about Himself and the Hereafter, because it is ambiguous and no one can claim knowledge of it. Whoever claims knowledge of it is a liar. Relative ambiguity is common; we find some scholars unable to reconcile two verses or two hadiths, while another scholar reconciles them with every surah.