Difference of Muhkam or Mutashabih

Qur’anic verses are divided into two groups, known as muhkam or mutashabih. What is the difference?

These two categories of Qur’anic verses are concerned with their meaning; muhkam means established, decisive, while mutashabih means allegorical.
a. The meanings of the terms muhkam and mutashabih: The term muhkam literally means “to make something firm and perfect, or to preserve something against defects or errors.” In connection with the Qur’an, this term is used for those Qur’anic verses that are easily understandable, which do not need much exegetical effort, and which have one clear meaning. Whereas, the term mutashabih literally has the meaning of “things that are comparable and consistent with each other, or which have mutual resemblance or which are alike,” while in relation to the Qur’an, this term means “those verses that have more than one meaning, that need exegetical effort for elucidation, or whose true nature cannot be conceived by mere
reasoning or narration.” There are three verses in the Glorious Qur’an that are related to this subject. According to the first of these, the entire Qur’an is muhkam: “Alif. Lam. Ra. (This is) a Book whose Revelations in verses have been made firm (absolutely free of doubt, alteration, or annulment) and full of wisdom, and arranged in sequence and distinctly detailed. It is from One All-Wise, All-Aware” (Hud 11:1). The term muhkam here has the meaning of “something far removed from annulment and doubt in all aspects, which is firm and well-established, which is durable and resilient at all times, and is orderly and full of supreme virtues.”
According to the second verse, the entire Qur’an is mutashabih: “God sends down in parts the best of the words as a Book fully consistent in itself and whose statements corroborate, expound and refer to one another…” (Zumar 39:23). The term mutashabih here means “Qur’anic verses which resemble each other in beauty, wisdom, authority and soundness, which verify one another and which are founded on ultimate truth and honesty; verses that contain words and meanings that are in full concordance and harmony.” The term mathaniya in the above verse means “that in which the decrees, admonitions or narratives are repeated, the reading, promises and challenges of which is repeated, or that in which something is mentioned and afterwards something opposed to it is mentioned (as the mentioning of believers or unbelievers, or of Heaven and Hell).”
According to the third verse, some Qur’anic verses are muhkam and some others are mutashabih: “It is He Who has sent down on you this Book, in which there are verses explicit in meaning and content and decisive: they are core of the Book, others being allegorical…” (Al Imran 3:7). The terms muhkam and mutashabih in this verse have been used with meanings that are different to that above. These two terms have contrasting meanings here. Accordingly, there are certain verses which are mutashabih and can thus be grasped only by those who are firmly grounded in knowledge; the meanings of such verses are only known by God.
b. Types of mutashabih verses: The reason why there are mutashabih verses is that Divine Wisdom is a mystery and can never be known exactly. There may be something hidden in words or meaning, or sometimes hidden in words and meanings both.

1. Mutashabih only in words: The quality of being mutashabih can be contained in a single word or in a sentence. That is, a single word may occur either because that word is a gharib (uncommon) word, because it has more than one meaning, or because it is in a sentence which has an intricate meaning or which is not totally clear. Now, let us examine these in more detail in order to understand better:
a. Uncommon words: The verse, “And fruits and herbage” (Abasa 80:31) may be regarded as an example of this category. The meaning of the term abban in this verse (which can be transliterated as “Wa fakihatan wa abban”) was not known as it was not a commonly used word at that time. There is a narration that when preaching from the pulpit, Caliph Umar read this verse and said, ‘‘We all understand these, but what does this a bb (in the verse) mean?’’ He said: “O God! I swear that it is a hardship and an onerous task to try to understand this.” Talking to himself, he continued and said, “O Umar! So what if you do not know the meaning of abban?” Recognizing the limitations of human beings in the face of Divine Knowledge, Umar went on to say, “Look into what is explained in the Qur’an and act in accordance with it; leave whatever you
do not understand to (the All-Knowing) God. ’’
b. Words with multiple meaning: A word can be mutashabih in some instances if it has more than one meaning. For instance, the term yamin has more than one meaning in the verse, “Then he fell upon them, striking them (the idols) with his right hand (with all his strength)” (Saffat 37:93), meaning right hand, strength or oath.
c. Being mutashabih due to brevity of the sentence: Another reason for a sentence being mutashabih is that some words may not be clearly mentioned in the sentence, but rather are implied by the text. For instance, the phrases law tazawwajtumuhunna, meaning “when you
marry” and min ghayrihinna, meaning “other (than them)” are implied by the context, even though they are not clearly mentioned in the verse, “If you fear that you will not be able to observe their rights with exact fairness when you marry the orphan girls, you can marry, from among other women (who are permitted to you in marriage and) who seem good to you…” (Nisa 4:3).
d. Being mutashabih due to word order: Another reason for a word or phrase being mutashabih could be the structure of the sentence. For instance, if the word qayyiman, or unerringly straight, in the verse came earlier in, “All praise and gratitude are for God, Who has sent down on His
servant the Book and has put no crookedness in it, – unerringly straight, to warn of a stern punishment from Him and give the believers who do good, righteous deeds the glad tidings that for them is an excellent reward” (Kahf 18:1-2), there would not be a lack of clarity or case of mutashabih here. When the word qayyiman is put in a different place in the sentence, the meaning would be more direct and easier to understand, “All praise and gratitude are for God, Who has sent down on His servant the Book and has made it a flawless guide (for human beings)
….”
2. Mutashabih caused by meaning: Sometimes the phenomenon of mutashabih can happen through the meaning. There are a number of examples in the Qur’an that are related to this. For example, the attributes of God, Judgment Day, life after death, the rewards of Heaven, and the hardships of
Hell are metaphysical matters which the human intellect cannot fully comprehend. The Islamic scholars adopt two distinct approaches in this regard; according to the first, the mutashabih verses in connection with the Divine attributes, for instance, do not refer to God’s Self, Who cannot be known in His Essence. Thus, they choose to refer the true nature of such attributes to God. The second is that these attributive words, which outwardly seem inconceivable, should be interpreted in accordance with God’s Divinity. For instance, in connection with the Divine attribute mentioned in, “Those who swear allegiance to you (O Messenger), swear allegiance to God only. God’s “Hand” is over their hands…” (Fath 48:10), the Salafis consider that God is far above the literary meanings of these attributes. They do not make any commentary on such attributive words; rather they believe in them as they are mentioned and thus refer their true meanings to God. But, later scholars have felt that it is possible to interpret such attributes so long as one can ascribe a sound meaning to these words that is both reasonably appropriate to God and which is in accordance with Islamic Law. They give two important meanings to the aforementioned verse. One meaning they give to this mutashabih word is that the Messenger’s hand is over the hand he grasps in allegiance as it represents God’s Hand; that is, obedience to the Messenger means the same as obedience to God. The other meaning is that God helps those who swear allegiance to the Messenger. So, here “Hand” signifies “Power.” Similarly, for God “Hand,” “Face,” or any other such term is metaphorical.

3. Mutashabih verses in both words and meaning: The mutashabih state in certain verses arises both from the word and its meaning. The following verse may be an example for this: They ask you (O Messenger) about the new moons (because of the month of Ramadan). Say: “They are appointed times (markers) for the people (to determine time periods) and for the Pilgrimage.” (Do not link them to superstitions and superstitious behavior like entering dwellings by the back rather than the front.) It is not virtue that you enter dwellings from the backs of them, but virtue is (the state of) one who (truly believing in God) strives to attain righteousness and piety (by carrying out His commandments and refraining from His prohibitions). So come to dwellings (in the normal way) by their doors. (Do everything according to the rule and establish relations with your leader and among yourselves in proper terms.) And strive to obey God in due reverence for Him and piety so that you may prosper. (Baqara 2:189)
This verse uses the occasion of people asking the Prophet about the new moons and demands that people not connect such events to superstitions or superstitious behavior, like entering dwellings by the rear entrance rather than the front. The Arabs at that time would, when dressed in ihram (a special two-part apparel put on for pilgrimage purpose), enter and exit their houses from the rear entrance, through an opening in the back wall of their houses. God Almighty expressed in the above verse that such behavior does not entail good behavior, and thus no righteousness is derived from it. The verse, thus, invites them to true piety and godliness. Obviously, it is difficult to understand what is meant by this verse without knowing the tradition of the Arabs at that time.

The verse, thus, clearly shows that both its words and meaning are mutashabih, or intricate. To sum up, the aspect of mutashabih can be divided into three parts: One is the category of mutashabih from which no one can comprehend the true meaning. There are many mutashabih matters about which only God can know their true meanings, such as God’s Divinity, the Truth (essence) of His attributes and the time of the Day of Judgment.
Secondly, there are verses that any one can comprehend with a little study or by some exegetical effort. The quality of mutashabih in this category arises either from the brevity of the words or from the word order. Finally, there are certain mutashabih verses which can be grasped only by those who are firmly grounded in knowledge. These are concerned with matters that only the scholars who study the commentaries and explanations of the Messenger and who are experts in the Arabic language, linguistics, literature, and other relevant fields of science, can comprehend. The prayer that the Prophet made for Ibn Abbas indicates this third category: “O God! Make him (Ibn Abbas) a learned scholar in religion and teach him the exegesis of the Qur’an.”

 

Akgul, Muhittin (2009). The Quran in 99 Questions (Abdullah Erdemli Trans.). New Jersey: Tughra Books. (Originally published in Turkish as Kur’an İklimine Seyahat)