«لِأَنَّهُ إِنْ سَلِمَ مِنَ الْمُعَارَضَةِ أَيْ لَمْ يَأْتِ خَبَرٌ يُضَادُّهُ، فَهُوَ الْمُحْكَمُ»
An accepted report is muhkam when no effective contrary report opposes its meaning.
Muhkam in this classification does not mean that every implication of the report requires no interpretation. It means that the particular problem of an effective conflicting narration is absent. Questions about the evidence, the report's scope, and its legal conditions can still arise independently.
For instance, two authentic narrations discussing the same virtue do not conflict merely by mentioning the same subject. Contradictory implications, not topical similarity, are the relevant test.