It is generally thought that there are certain verses of the Qur’ān whose meaning is only known to God and that no man is able to understand them. They are called the mutashābihāt verses of the Qur’ān.

It needs to be clarified that the mutashābihāt of the Qur’ān are verses in which things that are beyond human observation or comprehension are mentioned in the form of comparison (tashbīh) to things which we know in our own language and through our own experience. The actual purport conveyed by these verses is clear. However, human intellect is not equipped to grasp the reality to which they refer. For example, it is said in Sūrah H~āqqah that the Almighty’s throne shall be lifted by eight angels on the Day of Judgement. Now we cannot know what the throne will be like, though we may have a slight idea since the word throne is also a common word in our language. Similarly, Sūrah Muddaththir says that there will be nineteen sentinels guarding Hell. Again we cannot say why there will be nineteen and what they will be like, though we know that the word nineteen mentions a definite number. Consequently, verses which mention the blowing of spirit in Adam, the birth of Jesus (sws) without a father, nature of God’s actions like His sitting on a throne, the blessings of Paradise like the nature of its milk and honey, the torments of Hell like the tree ofzaqqūm growing in fire are examples of the mutashābihāt. The real purpose of such verses is that they become a trial and test for people since they must profess faith in them, without going after their reality. The Qur’ān says:

هُوَ الَّذِيَ أَنزَلَ عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ مِنْهُ آيَاتٌ مُّحْكَمَاتٌ هُنَّ أُمُّ الْكِتَابِ وَأُخَرُ مُتَشَابِهَاتٌ فَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ في قُلُوبِهِمْ زَيْغٌ فَيَتَّبِعُونَ مَا تَشَابَهَ مِنْهُ ابْتِغَاء الْفِتْنَةِ وَابْتِغَاء تَأْوِيلِهِ وَمَا يَعْلَمُ تَأْوِيلَهُ إِلاَّ اللّهُ وَالرَّاسِخُونَ فِي الْعِلْمِ يَقُولُونَ آمَنَّا بِهِ كُلٌّ مِّنْ عِندِ رَبِّنَا وَمَا يَذَّكَّرُ إِلاَّ أُوْلُواْ الألْبَابِ (7:3)

He it is Who has sent down to you the Book; in it are verses fundamental; they are the foundation of the book: others are mutashabiat. But those in whose hearts is a twist follow the mutashabihat seeking discord, and searching for its hidden meanings, but no one knows their true reality except Allah. And those who are firmly grounded 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. (3:7)

An important point worth noting in the above mentioned verses is that it has not been said that the meaning of the mutashābihāt is only known to Allah. Rather it has been declared that their reality is only known to Him. The actual word used is ta’wīl which is used in the same sense here as in the following verse:

قَالَ يَا أَبَتِ هَـذَا تَأْوِيلُ رُؤْيَايَ (100:12)

He [Joseph] said: “This is the reality [in the interpretation] of my dream which I had seen before.” (12:100)

Consequently, the meaning of the words in which the dream of Joseph has been mentioned in the Qur’ān is clear to everyone who knows Arabic. However, the reality denoted by the various elements of the dream like the sun, the moon and the eleven stars (12:4) was only known once the dream was fulfilled.

While explaining this aspect, Amīn Ahsan Islāhī writes:

The reality to which these [mutashābihāt] point is itself very clear and obvious. Human intellect can understand that part of it which is essential for it to understand. However, since it belongs to an unseen world, the Qur’ān mentions it through parables and similes so that students of the Qur’ān can understand it as per their capabilities and consider that only God knows what their real form and shape is. These [mutashābihāt] relate to attributes and works of God or to the reward and punishment of the Hereafter. We are able to understand them to the extent we need to understand them, and this increases our knowledge and faith but if we go beyond this and start to seek their real form and shape, then this will only lead us astray. The result of this is that while wanting to clear one doubt from the mind, a person ends up gathering many more; so much so, in this quest to know more he loses what he had gained and refutes very clear facts just because he is not able to ascertain their form and shape.

It is evident from these details that the mutashābihāt of the Qur’ān are verses the true reality of which human intellect is not capable of knowing since there can be no words in a language which can describe things yet to come in human observation. Consequently, words which may be similar to the concepts conveyed by these things of the unknown world are used to portray these details. It is incorrect to regard them as verses whose meaning is unclear or doubtful.