المحكم والمتشابه
al-Muḥkam, al-mutashābih
Verses with a clear and precise meaning (muḥkam) and verses that can bear more than one interpretation (mutashābih).
What it means
The Quran divides its verses in the third surah: “He it is who sent down to you the Book, of which some verses are muḥkamāt, they are the mother of the Book, and others are mutashābihāt” (3:7). The muḥkam verses are clear and specific in their commands and meaning, and they form the base of the Book. The mutashābih verses allow more than one reading or application.
The verse goes on to say that those with deviation in their hearts follow what is mutashābih to seek confusion, while those firmly grounded in knowledge say, “We believe in it, all is from our Lord”. Scholars teach that the unclear verses should be read in the light of the clear ones, so that no verse is set against another. Where the Quran speaks of God, for instance, the reader takes the clear teaching of His oneness and transcendence as the guide.
Often misunderstood as
“Ambiguous” is a poor rendering of mutashābih, since the term means a verse that resembles another or that allows several readings, not one that is meaningless.
What the sources say
Commentators differ on where to stop in reading 3:7, and so on whether the interpretation of the mutashābih is known only to God or also to the scholars.
Term and Arabic as listed in Ismail al Faruqi, Toward Islamic English (International Institute of Islamic Thought, 1995), p. 49, listed as AL MUḤKAM, AL MUTASHĀBAH. The definition is restated here.