The definitive verses are those whose wording is precise. [Mahamud said: "The definitive verses are those whose wording is precise... etc."] Ahmad said: "This is as I have presented from him regarding his effort to interpret the verses according to what he believes. I seek refuge with Allah from making the Qur'an subordinate to opinion. This is because his belief is the denial of the vision of Allah, the Exalted, based on the claim of the Qadariyya that vision necessitates corporeality and direction. When they are confronted with the conclusive text indicating the occurrence of vision, such as His saying: (To their Lord, they will be gazing), they tend to classify it as ambiguous so that they can refer it back, in their claim, to the verse which they believe its apparent meaning aligns with their opinion.

The verse is His saying: (The sights do not perceive Him). Our aim now is to clarify the necessity of reconciling between the two verses in the correct manner. We say:

The meaning of His saying: (The sights do not perceive Him) is in the worldly life. And the meaning of vision is in the Hereafter, reconciling between the evidences. Or we may say:

Although the sights are general in appearance, what is meant by them is specific, namely, the sights of the disbelievers do not perceive Him, as in His saying: (No! Indeed, they will be veiled from their Lord that Day). We say: There is no contradiction between the two verses; we affirm each one of them in its context. The explanation of this is that the sights are general with the definite article indicating the genus, and the claim of the Qadariyya cannot be established unless they agree on its generality. At that point, the generality would imply the inclusion of all, because both the defined and the generic imply comprehensiveness and totality. If this is established, then the negation applies to the totality. The principles are established that the negation of the totality is partial in language and reasoning. Do you not see that when someone says:

Do not spend all the coins, the implication of that is permission to spend some and prohibition from spending some. From a rational perspective, the totality is negated by the negation of some individuals, even if it is one. Therefore, the implication of the verse is the negation of vision from some sights and its affirmation for some sights. This is the very position of the Ahl al-Sunnah, for they affirm it for the monotheists and negate it for the disbelievers, as indicated by His saying: (No! Indeed, they will be veiled from their Lord that Day). It has been established that this verse is either carried on the affirmation of vision or remains upon its apparent meaning, serving as evidence for its affirmation according to the Sunnah.

It cannot be said that the distinction has been established between the inclusion of all on the defined genus and the lack of its inclusion. Do you not see that they say our statement: "The human is a writer" is vague in the sense of being partial, while our statement: "Every human is an animal" is universal, not partial? This is because we have followed the Qadariyya in what they must agree upon, and they have agreed on the inclusion of sights for each individual of the genus. If it were not for that, their aim would not be achieved, and we would be spared the burden of discussing this. This extent of generality agreed upon by both parties is not established for what those of that discipline have called vague; rather, this is the universal according to them, and Allah is the Grantor of success. As for the other two verses, one of which is His saying: (Indeed, Allah does not command immorality) and the other which is His saying: (We commanded its affluent ones, but they transgressed therein),

Al-Zamakhshari does not dispute in using them as examples of the definitive and ambiguous.

Thus, they are preserved from ambiguity and confusion. The ambiguous verses are those that are ambiguous and have multiple meanings; they are the Mother of the Book, meaning the foundation of the Book, upon which the ambiguous verses are based and to which they are referred. An example of this is (The sights do not perceive Him), (To their Lord, they will be gazing), (Indeed, Allah does not command immorality), (We commanded its affluent ones).

If you say:

So why is the entire Qur'an not decisive? I said: If it were all decisive, people would cling to it due to its ease of understanding. They would turn away from what requires them to investigate and reflect through reasoning and inference. If they did that, they would neglect the path by which knowledge of Allah and His Oneness can only be attained. This is due to the trials found in the ambiguous verses and the distinction between those firm in the truth and those wavering in it. There are also the great benefits and abundant knowledge gained from the scholars' discussions and their efforts in extracting meanings and relating them back to the decisive verses. The believer who believes that there is no contradiction in the words of Allah and no difference, when he sees something that appears contradictory in it, is concerned with seeking what reconciles it and aligns it with a single understanding. So he thinks and reviews himself and others, and Allah opens up for him, revealing the correspondence between the ambiguous and the decisive. He becomes more assured in his belief and stronger in his conviction. Those in whose hearts is deviation are the people of innovation, and they follow what is ambiguous among it, clinging to the ambiguous that can be interpreted in ways that align with the innovator's views, which do not correspond with the decisive, and it can also align with the words of the people of truth. They seek to create discord, attempting to mislead people from their religion and lead them astray, and they seek to interpret it in the way they desire. And no one knows its interpretation except Allah and those firmly grounded in knowledge. This means that only Allah knows the true interpretation that it must be understood in. [Mawlana said: Its meaning is that no one is guided to its interpretation... etc.] Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: And His saying 'no one is guided to it except Allah' is a problematic phrase. He did not intend to apply guidance to the knowledge of Allah, the Exalted, even though this wording is misleading, as guidance in its general sense only applies to the one who is astray. Allah is exalted and mighty. So much so that when a disbeliever embraces Islam, the people of common understanding refer to him as 'the guided one.' This is the linguistic implication, as it is a response to guidance. It is said: I guided him, so he was guided. The consensus is that what has not been intended for application and is misleading should not be applied to Allah, the Exalted. Therefore, it is more appropriate to deny al-Zamakhshari's application of guidance to the knowledge of Allah, the Exalted, when he defined absolute knowledge as the knowledge of the known as it is. Thus, it is more fitting to deny the application of guidance to the knowledge of Allah than to deny it to al-Zamakhshari. I do not see that this came from him except as a misunderstanding, as he attributed knowledge to Allah, the Exalted, and to those firmly grounded in knowledge, applying guidance to the firmly grounded, or he understood that he mentioned them as proceeding towards Allah in the mentioned action, and Allah knows best.] And His servants who are firmly grounded in knowledge, meaning they are established in it and have a firm grip on it. Some of them stop at His saying 'except Allah' and begin with 'and those firmly grounded in knowledge' saying: They interpret the ambiguous with what Allah has exclusively kept to Himself in knowledge, and with the understanding of the wisdom in it from His verses, such as the number of the guardians and similar matters. The first is the correct view. They say: This is a statement that clarifies the condition of the firmly grounded, meaning these scholars of interpretation say: We believe in it, meaning the ambiguous, all of it is from our Lord, meaning each one of it and the decisive is from Him, or from the book, all of its ambiguous and decisive is from Allah, the Wise, whose words do not contradict and whose book does not differ. And none will remember except those of understanding. This praises the firmly grounded for their thoughtful consideration and good reflection. It is possible that 'they say' is a state of the firmly grounded. Abdullah read: 'Its interpretation is only with Allah.' Ubayy read: 'And the firmly grounded say.'