Imam ar-Ridha’ (a.

Imam ar-Ridha’ (a.s.) is quoted in a narration as having said, "Among our narratives are mutashabih like the Qur'an's, and also muhkam like the Qur'an's; so, seek help from the muhkam to understand the mutashabih , and do not follow the mutashabih without the muhkam else you should stray." Justifying the Mutashabih in the Qur'an The Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) justifies the existence of Qur'anic verses which can be interpreted in more than one way by saying: "The Almighty has done so in order to foil the attempt of wrong-doers from among those who would take control over the legacy of the knowledge of the Book left by the Messenger of God (S), which he did not intend them to acquire, rendering them unable to explain the various possible meanings thereof." It is as if God willed that the Prophet (S) and those who would bear the Message after him would have a special distinction which is the understanding of what others are not able to understand so that people would resort to them when they are unable to understand certain verses of the Holy Qur'an which they need to understand for the betterment of their life and the comprehension of their creed.

Justifying the Mutashabih in the Hadith As regarding the existence of the mutashabih in the hadith reported about the (a.s.), as the Imam pointed out in his tradition cited above, this can be justified in the following manner: These Imams (a.s.) used to suffer a great deal of persecution at the hands of their contemporary rulers who incessantly pursued them and their followers, forcing upon them a very strict surveillance, counting their breath.

In many cases, in the face of such an intolerable treatment at the hands of those rulers, the Imams had to resort to the taqiyya in many of their deeds and sayings. They might have been asked, for example, about their judgment of a particular incident, or about something related to the creed and school of thought, and they would answer in a way which permitted more than one way of understanding the answer due to their own apprehension of the ruler's watchdogs and informers.

The meaning may be derived at the time the question is put forth when a related matter is at hand.