Explaining the Rule: When Ambiguity Exists, the Argument is Dropped; Is This Rule General or Not?
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The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) explains the reason for the error of those who claim that a single word has many possible meanings in order to invalidate its indication of the intended meaning. This is because one of the established principles is that when ambiguity exists, the argument is dropped. If they say, "This could mean such-and-such, and this could mean such-and-such, and such-and-such," and ask, "Which meaning do you want?" and you say, "We want such-and-such," they will ask, "What is the evidence that the intended meaning is such-and-such rather than the other possibilities?" At that point, the argument is dropped. The author (may Allah have mercy on him) wants to clarify the reason, and that not every word that can be understood in one meaning in a certain context is necessarily ambiguous for that meaning in another context. A word may be capable of a certain meaning in one context, but not in another; rather, there may be contextual or verbal indicators that prevent the intention of that meaning, according to the structure of the speech, the contextual indicator, and the context and structure of the speech.
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) explains the reason for the error of those who claim that a single word has many possible meanings in order to invalidate its indication of the intended meaning. This is because one of the established principles is that when ambiguity exists, the argument is dropped. If they say, "This could mean such-and-such, and this could mean such-and-such, and such-and-such," and ask, "Which meaning do you want?" and you say, "We want such-and-such," they will ask, "What is the evidence that the intended meaning is such-and-such rather than the other possibilities?" At that point, the argument is dropped. The author (may Allah have mercy on him) wants to clarify the reason, and that not every word that can be understood in one meaning in a certain context is necessarily ambiguous for that meaning in another context. A word may be capable of a certain meaning in one context, but not in another; rather, there may be contextual or verbal indicators that prevent the intention of that meaning, according to the structure of the speech, the contextual indicator, and the context and structure of the speech.