MAY 06, 2026
The claim that the Qurʾan contradicts itself by describing itself
as mubīn, detailed, and a clarification of everything [16:89,
6:114, 12:1], while also containing ambiguous verses [3:7] and requiring the
Sunnah [16:44, 16:64], rests on a misunderstanding of what Qurʾanic clarity
actually means. It assumes that if a text is “clear,” then it must be
exhaustive, self-contained, and require no explanation or interpretive
framework. That assumption is neither stated by the Qurʾan nor supported by how
language normally works, and it is not how classical scholars understood these
verses.
When the Qur’an describes itself as mubīn,
it is affirming that its message is clear in guidance, that it distinguishes
truth from falsehood, and that it provides a coherent and accessible path for
belief and practice. This is reinforced by the description of the Qurʾan
as mufaṣṣal [6:114], which classical commentators explained as
differentiation of meanings, clarification of truth from falsehood, guidance
from misguidance, and lawful from unlawful. Al-‘Izz b. ʿAbd al-Salām, for
example, explains that this “detailing” refers to distinguishing categories
such as command and prohibition, lawful and unlawful,[1] not to listing every conceivable detail
in isolation. The Qurʾan is detailed in what it sets out to do, which is
guidance.
The same applies to the phrase tibyānan
li-kulli shayʾ [16:89]. Al-Rāzī distinguishes between religious and
non-religious knowledge, noting that the verse clearly concerns the former.[2] Al-Ṭabarī explains it as clarification
of everything people need regarding the lawful and unlawful and the realities
of reward and punishment.[3] Al-Wāḥidī states that it refers to all
matters of religion, either explicitly in the text or by directing to sources
that establish knowledge, such as the Prophet’s explanation or consensus.[4] Al-Zamakhsharī makes this even more
explicit by saying that the Qurʾan clarifies religious matters partly by direct
statement and partly by referring to the Sunnah, since it commands obedience to
the Messenger.[5] Al-Nasafī synthesizes this by explaining
that even rulings known through Sunnah, consensus, or reasoning ultimately
return to the Qurʾan, since it establishes their authority.[6] In all of these interpretations, the
Qurʾan’s completeness includes its establishment of a system of understanding,
not merely a list of isolated instructions.
This is why the presence of ambiguous verses [3:7]
is not a contradiction. The Qurʾan itself explains that some verses are
foundational and clear, while others require interpretation. That is not a flaw
in clarity but part of how clarity operates. A text can be clear in its overall
guidance while containing layers that require reflection, context, and
explanation. The Qurʾan openly acknowledges this instead of presenting an
artificially simplistic model.
The same framework appears when we consider the
Prophet’s role. The Qurʾan repeatedly says that the Messenger’s duty is to
convey the message clearly [5:92, 24:54, 64:12]. But “clear delivery” is not
mere recitation without explanation. The Qurʾan itself clarifies this by
stating that the Prophet was sent “so that you may explain to people what has
been revealed to them” [16:44] and “so that you may clarify for them that
wherein they differ” [16:64]. The verb used, litubayyina, shares
the same root as mubīn. The Qurʾan is clear, and the Prophet makes
clear. These are not competing ideas but complementary functions within a
single revelatory system.
The Qurʾan also describes multiple roles for the
Prophet that cannot be reduced to simple delivery. He recites the revelation,
purifies people, teaches them the Book, and teaches them wisdom [2:129, 2:151,
3:164, 62:2]. If his only role were to transmit words, these additional
functions would be redundant. Teaching the Book is not the same as reciting it,
and teaching wisdom is not reducible to repeating verses. The Qurʾan itself
expands the concept of revelation beyond text to include explanation,
application, and lived embodiment.
This becomes even clearer when we look at verses
that establish the Prophet’s authority. He is described as making lawful what
is good and unlawful what is impure [7:157], and believers are commanded to
take whatever he gives and refrain from whatever he forbids [59:7]. His
judgments must be accepted with full submission [4:65], and his authority is
paired with that of God in binding decisions [33:36]. These verses cannot be
reconciled with the idea that the Prophet’s role was merely to recite a text
without interpretive or practical authority.
The claim of contradiction also collapses when we
compare how similar reasoning would apply to other scriptures if read in the
same uncharitable way. The Bible, for example, describes itself as a clear
guide. In Psalm 119 it says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my
path.” Yet 2 Peter admits that some parts of scripture are “hard to
understand.” No serious reader sees this as a contradiction. The message is
clear in guidance, but not every passage is equally simple.
Similarly, 2 Timothy says that scripture equips a
person for “every good work,” yet Christianity has always relied on
interpretation, theology, and tradition to understand and apply that scripture.
No one concludes that the Bible is therefore inconsistent. Rather, they
understand that sufficiency includes a framework for interpretation, not the
absence of it.
The teachings of Jesus also show a similar pattern.
In Luke it is said that nothing will remain hidden, yet in Matthew Jesus
explicitly speaks in parables so that not everyone immediately understands.
This is not viewed as contradiction but as layered communication, where
understanding depends on receptivity and explanation.
Moreover, the New Testament does not present
guidance as text alone. In John Jesus speaks of the Spirit teaching believers,
and in Matthew he commands his followers to teach others to observe what he
commanded. This results in a structure of scripture plus teacher plus
transmitted understanding. Again, no contradiction is perceived. It is simply
how revelation operates.
Even within the Biblical wisdom literature, we find
statements similar to the Qurʾanic description of clarity. The Book of
Proverbs states that its words are clear to the discerning and upright
to those who find knowledge. Yet no one takes this to mean that every proverb
is equally obvious to every reader regardless of context, wisdom, or
explanation. The clarity is relational. It is clear to those prepared to
understand it.
These parallels show that the alleged contradiction
in the Qurʾan arises only when one imposes an artificial definition of “clear”
as meaning “independent of all explanation.” Once that assumption is removed,
the structure becomes coherent. The Qurʾan is clear in its guidance, detailed
in its differentiation of truth and falsehood, comprehensive in establishing
the sources of religious knowledge, and explicit in assigning the Prophet the
role of explaining, teaching, and embodying that guidance.
A helpful way to conceptualize this is through a
simple analogy. If a textbook says it is clear, detailed, and sufficient for success,
and within that same textbook it instructs students to follow the teacher’s
explanations, then referring to the teacher is not a contradiction of the
book’s sufficiency. It is part of it. The book is clear precisely because it
clearly directs the student to the proper means of understanding and
application.
In the same way, the Qurʾan’s claim to clarity
includes its clear instruction to follow the Messenger. The Sunnah is not an
external patch added to fix an incomplete text. It is the divinely sanctioned
means through which the Qurʾan’s guidance is explained, lived, and implemented.
The supposed contradiction disappears once the Qurʾan is read on its own terms
rather than through an imposed definition of what clarity must mean.
[1] He states:
{مُفَصَّلاً} تفصيل آياته لتمتاز معانيه،
أو تفصيل الصادق من الكاذب، أو تفصيل الحق من الباطل والهدى من الضلال، أو تفصيل
الأمر من النهي، أو المستحب من المحظور والحلال من الحرام
[2] He states:
المسألة الثانية: من الناس من قال: القرآن تبيان لكل شيء
وذلك لأن العلوم إما دينية أو غير دينية، أما العلوم التي ليست دينية فلا تعلق لها
بهذه الآية، لأن من المعلوم بالضرورة أن الله تعالى إنما مدح القرآن بكونه مشتملا
على علوم الدين فأما ما لا يكون من علوم الدين فلا التفات إليه، وأما علوم الدين
فإما الأصول، وإما الفروع، أما علم الأصول فهو بتمامه موجود في القرآن وأما علم
الفروع فالأصل براءة الذمة إلا ما ورد على سبيل التفصيل في هذا الكتاب، وذلك يدل
على أنه لا تكليف من الله تعالى إلا ما ورد في هذا القرآن، وإذا كان كذلك كان
القول بالقياس باطلا، وكان القرآن وافيا ببيان كل الأحكام، وأما الفقهاء فإنهم
قالوا: القرآن إنما كان تبيانا لكل شيء، لأنه يدل على أن الإجماع وخبر الواحد
والقياس حجة، فإذا ثبت حكم من الأحكام بأحد هذه الأوصل كان ذلك الحكم ثابتا
بالقرآن، وهذه المسألة قد سبق ذكرها بالاستقصاء في سورة الأعراف، والله أعلم
[3] He says:
وقوله ( وَنـزلْنَا عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ تِبْيَانًا
لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ ) يقول: نـزل عليك يا محمد هذا القرآن بيانا لكلّ ما بالناس إليه
الحاجة من معرفة الحلال والحرام والثواب والعقاب
[4] He states:
وقال أهل المعاني: يعني لكل شيء من أمور الدين بالنص
عليه أو الإحالة على ما يوجب العلم به من بيان النبيّ -صلى الله عليه وسلم- أو
إجماع، فهو الأصل والمفتاح لعلوم الدين
[5] He says:
فإن قلت: كيف كان القرآن تبياناً { لّكُلّ شَيْء}؟ قلت:
المعنى أنه بين كل شيء من أمور الدين، حيث كان نصاً على بعضها وإحالة على السنة،
حيث أمر فيه باتباع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وطاعته
[6] He says:
ويوم نبعث فى كل أمة شهيدا عليهم من انفسهم يعنى نبيهم
لأنه كان يبعث أنبياء الأمم فيهم منهم وجئنا بك يا محمد شهيدا على هؤلاء على أمتك
ونزلنا عليك الكتاب تبيانا بليغا لكل شيء من امور الدين أما في الأحكام المنصوصة
فظاهر وكذا فيما ثبت بالسنة أو بالاجماع أو بقول الصحابة أو بالقياس لأن مرجع الكل
إلى الكتاب حيث أمرنا فيه باتباع رسوله عليه السلام وطاعته بقوله أطيعوا الله
وأطيعوا الرسول وحثنا على الإجماع فيه بقوله ويتبع غير سبيل المؤمنين وقد رضى رسول
الله صلى الله عليه وسلم لأمته باتباع أصحابه بقوله أصحابى كالنجوم بأيهم اقتديتم
اهتديتم وقد اجتهدوا وقاسوا ووطئوا طرق الاجتهاد والقياس مع أنه أمرنا به بقوله
فاعتبروا يا أولى الأبصار فكانت السنة والإجماع وقول الصحابى والقياس مستندة إلى
تبيان الكتاب فنتبين أنه كان تبيانا لكل شيء وهدى ورحمة وبشرى للمسلمين ودلالة إلى
الحق ورحمة لهم وبشارة لهم بالجنة
No comments:
Post a Comment