الظاهر: كلام ظهر المراد به للسامع بنفس السماع من غير تأمل.
Zahir is speech whose intended meaning becomes evident to the listener merely by hearing it, without extended reflection.
Two phrases are central. Bi-nafs al-samaʿ means that the language itself promptly conveys the meaning. Min ghayr taʾammul means no elaborate investigation is needed to perceive that apparent sense.
Zahir does not mean that every alternative sense is logically impossible. It identifies the meaning immediately disclosed by the wording, even though a separate contextual possibility may remain.