LessonsMuḥkam, Mutashābih, Kināyah, Taʿrīḍ and Figurative AttributionQuiz

«المحكم هو ما لا يدرك العارف باللغة من ذلك الكلام إلا معنى واحدًا»
Muḥkam denotes discourse from which a competent speaker of the language apprehends one determinate meaning.

“One meaning” does not imply that all legal applications, implications or connections with other evidence have already been settled. The point is narrower: the wording, considered in its recognized linguistic usage, does not present competing ordinary meanings of equal standing.

A reader assesses familiar usage, construction and context together. Manufacturing remote theoretical possibilities cannot by itself make an otherwise clear expression ambiguous. This prevents confusing linguistic determination with every later question an interpreter might raise.

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Muḥkam: a determinate meaning

Muḥkam, Mutashābih, Kināyah, Taʿrīḍ and Figurative Attribution

«المحكم هو ما لا يدرك العارف باللغة من ذلك الكلام إلا معنى واحدًا»
Muḥkam denotes discourse from which a competent speaker of the language apprehends one determinate meaning.

“One meaning” does not imply that all legal applications, implications or connections with other evidence have already been settled. The point is narrower: the wording, considered in its recognized linguistic usage, does not present competing ordinary meanings of equal standing.

A reader assesses familiar usage, construction and context together. Manufacturing remote theoretical possibilities cannot by itself make an otherwise clear expression ambiguous. This prevents confusing linguistic determination with every later question an interpreter might raise.