The Quran

Preface

هُوَ الَّذي أَنزَلَ عَلَيكَ الكِتابَ مِنهُ آياتٌ مُحكَماتٌ هُنَّ أُمُّ الكِتابِ وَأُخَرُ مُتَشابِهاتٌ ۖ فَأَمَّا الَّذينَ في قُلوبِهِم زَيغٌ فَيَتَّبِعونَ ما تَشابَهَ مِنهُ ابتِغاءَ الفِتنَةِ وَابتِغاءَ تَأويلِهِ ۗ وَما يَعلَمُ تَأويلَهُ إِلَّا اللَّهُ ۗ وَالرّاسِخونَ فِي العِلمِ يَقولونَ آمَنّا بِهِ كُلٌّ مِن عِندِ رَبِّنا ۗ وَما يَذَّكَّرُ إِلّا أُولُو الأَلبابِ

Yusuf Ali

He it is Who has sent down to thee the Book: In it are verses basic or fundamental (of established meaning); they are the foundation¹ of the Book: others are allegorical. But 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 grounded² 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.

This passage gives us an important clue to the interpretation of the Holy Qur-ān. Broadly speaking it may be divided into two portions, not given separately, but intermingled: viz. (1) the nucleus or foundation of the Book, literally “the mother of the Book”, (2) the part which is not of well-established meaning. It is very fascinating to take up the latter, and exercise our ingenuity about its inner meaning, but it refers to such profound spiritual matters that human language is inadequate to it, and though people of wisdom may get some light from it, no one should be dogmatic, as the final meaning is known to God alone. The Commentators usually understand the verses “of established meaning” (muhkam) to refer to the categorical orders of the Shan'ah (or the Law), which are plain to everyone’s understanding. But perhaps the meaning is wider: the “mother of the Book” must include the very foundation on which all law rests, the essence of God’s Message, as distinguished from the various illustrative parables, allegories, and ordinances (Cf. 11:1). (R).
One reading, rejected by the majority of Commentators, but accepted by Mujahid and others, would not make a break at the point here marked Waqf Lazim, but would run the two sentences together. In that case the construction would run: “No one knows its hidden meanings except God and those who are firm in knowledge. They say”, etc.