works of the Shari'a and exegesis (tefsir) without permission are not authoritative. For they are probably just spongers. But those who have related them should not be blamed. Yes, if a person whose words on one science are authoritative holds his rulings on another science to be authoritative by moving them from one to the other or just as an assertion, it means he is not complying with the divine laws of the division of labour and organisation of work.

Also, it is accepted in logic that the proposition necessitates the statements of the subject and predicate in only one respect. Others of their statements are not part of that science. They have to be matters of some other science.

It is also established that a general statement cannot express a particular one with any of the three significations. [^12] For example, it is completely illogical to consider definitive the interpretation of the verse, "between the two steep mountain-sides"(18:96) in the tefsir of Bayḍāwī, [^13] that refers to what lies between the mountains of Armenia and Azerbaijan. For basically it is a narration (nakil). Also, what it states specifically is not what the Qur'an indicates; such an interpretation cannot be considered exegesis (tefsir), for it is a specific statement (teşrih) based on another science about part of the verse. It is unfair, therefore, to make such weak points a pretext and raise doubts about the well-grounded competence in Qur'anic exegesis of that masterly commentator. The essential truths of Qur'anic commentaries and the Shari'a are clear. They shine like the stars. Their power and clarity give courage to someone powerless like myself. So I claim that however many fundamental truths there are in the Shari'a and in Qur'anic commentaries,

[^12]:The three types of signification (delâlât-i selase. Ar. al-dalālāt al-thalātha): delâlet-i mutabıkıye (Ar. al-dalāla al-muṭābiqiyya), delâlet-i tazammuniye (Ar. al-dalāla al-taḍammuniyya), and delâlet-i iltizâmiye (Ar. al-dalāla al-iltizāmiyya). These are said to refer respectively to the primary or literal meanings of words or phrases, the implied meanings, and figurative significations.

[^13]:'Abd Allāh b. 'Umar al-Bayḍāwī (d. 685/1286). Famous Shafi'i scholar and qadi of Shiraz. His most famous work was the commentary, Anwār al-Tanzīl wa Asrār al-Ta'wīl.