What is the difference between a clear verse and an ambiguous verse?
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The questioner : This is a question from the honorableThe Shaykh : What is a clear verse and what is an ambiguous verse, and what is the difference between them?
The Shaykh : Yes, in the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. A clear verse is one whose meaning is clarified, and an ambiguous verse is one that contains a generalization that is not confusing. An example of the first is the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Al-Baqarah 2:185] We all know what the month of Ramadan is, right? And we all know what the Qur'an is? We say: This is clear.
The ambiguous one is that in which there is a difference, such as the saying of Allah Blessed and Exalted is He:[Al-An'am 6:23] Here they deny being polytheists, and in another verse Allah the Exalted said: [An-Nisa 4:42] So this is ambiguous. How can a verse deny—praise be to Allah—
The student: May Allah have mercy on you
The Shaykh : May Allah guide you and rectify your affairs
One verse says: They deny being polytheists, and another verse says: They do not conceal the news. The meaning becomes confusing to a person, so the scholars of knowledge come and say: The Day of Resurrection is not one hour; its duration is how much? Fifty thousand years. At some times they conceal, and at some times they do not conceal. Likewise, Allah Mighty and Majestic said:[Ali 'Imran 3:106] And He said: [Taha 20:102] How can they be black and also blue? It is said: This is from the ambiguous matters that those firmly grounded in knowledge know. They say: The Day of Resurrection is long, and conditions differ in it, so faces become black and faces become blue. Or it is said: The deep blue is close to black.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : Yes, in the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. A clear verse is one whose meaning is clarified, and an ambiguous verse is one that contains a generalization that is not confusing. An example of the first is the saying of Allah the Exalted:
The month of Ramadhan [is that] in which was revealed the Qur'an
شهر رمضان الذي أنزل فيه القرآنThe ambiguous one is that in which there is a difference, such as the saying of Allah Blessed and Exalted is He:
Then there will be no [excuse upon] examination except they will say, "By Allah, our Lord, we were not those who associated."
ثم لم تكن فتنتهم إلا أن قالوا والله ربنا ما كنا مشركينAnd they will not conceal from Allah a [single] statement.
ولا يكتمون الله حديثاThe student: May Allah have mercy on you
The Shaykh : May Allah guide you and rectify your affairs
One verse says: They deny being polytheists, and another verse says: They do not conceal the news. The meaning becomes confusing to a person, so the scholars of knowledge come and say: The Day of Resurrection is not one hour; its duration is how much? Fifty thousand years. At some times they conceal, and at some times they do not conceal. Likewise, Allah Mighty and Majestic said:
On the Day [some] faces will turn white and [some] faces will turn black
يوم تبيض وجوه وتسود وجوهAnd We will gather the criminals, that Day, blue-eyed.
ونحشر المجرمين يومئذٍ زُرقاThe questioner : May Allah reward you with good.