Ali 'Imran · Madani · ayah 7 of 200

Ali 'Imran 3:7

هُوَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَنزَلَ عَلَيْكَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ مِنْهُ ءَايَـٰتٌ مُّحْكَمَـٰتٌ هُنَّ أُمُّ ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ وَأُخَرُ مُتَشَـٰبِهَـٰتٌ ۖ فَأَمَّا ٱلَّذِينَ فِى قُلُوبِهِمْ زَيْغٌ فَيَتَّبِعُونَ مَا تَشَـٰبَهَ مِنْهُ ٱبْتِغَآءَ ٱلْفِتْنَةِ وَٱبْتِغَآءَ تَأْوِيلِهِۦ ۗ وَمَا يَعْلَمُ تَأْوِيلَهُۥٓ إِلَّا ٱللَّهُ ۗ وَٱلرَّٰسِخُونَ فِى ٱلْعِلْمِ يَقُولُونَ ءَامَنَّا بِهِۦ كُلٌّ مِّنْ عِندِ رَبِّنَا ۗ وَمَا يَذَّكَّرُ إِلَّآ أُو۟لُوا۟ ٱلْأَلْبَـٰبِ

“It is He who has sent down to you, [O Muḥammad], the Book; in it are verses [that are] precise - they are the foundation of the Book - and others unspecific.[116] As for those in whose hearts is deviation [from truth], they will follow that of it which is unspecific, seeking discord and seeking an interpretation [suitable to them]. And no one knows its [true] interpretation except Allāh. But those firm in knowledge say, "We believe in it. All [of it] is from our Lord." And no one will be reminded except those of understanding,”

Saheeh International

Essence

Read what is unclear by what is clear, and notice that the heart decides how a verse is read before the eyes ever reach it.

A reflection

Ask me in the morning

A grandmother stirs a spoonful of starter into warm milk and sets the bowl in the airing cupboard overnight. Her grandson asks what it will be like. 'Ask me in the morning,' she says. Nobody can show you the yoghurt at nine at night.

Wa mā yaʿlamu taʾwīlahu illā Allāh: none knows its taʾwīl except Allah. The root pictures exactly that bowl. Milk āla when it settled and thickened into what it was always going to become. Taʾwīl is where a thing finally arrives. One classical commentary separates two senses. Taʾwīl can mean explanation, which the learned can reach. Or it can mean the reality a thing comes to. That is the Hereafter as it will actually be, the promise on the day it is kept (7:53). That second kind, only Allah knows.

Now look at what the ayah says the swerving heart is hunting for: ibtighāʾa taʾwīlih, its taʾwīl. Two early explanations are recorded: twisting it to suit themselves, or wanting to know from the Quran what will happen and how things will end. Every generation has its confident decoders. The video that maps a verse onto this year's headlines. The preacher with a date for the end. The online expert with the final word on everything.

That is where the ego hides in religion: not in sin but in certainty. It wants to stand where only Allah stands, at the end of things, looking back.

The firmly rooted take the other posture. 'We believe in it; all of it is from our Lord'. One early description of them survives: humble before Allah, lowering themselves to seek His pleasure, not reaching above their station, not despising those below.

Why would God keep the final meaning of some things to Himself? Not to hide from us, and not because our understanding adds to Him. Some things can only be known when they arrive. Until then, faith is the grandson trusting the one who set the bowl.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.