very rarely used, and had it
not been for the following words, "when evil toucheth him, he is full of
complaint; but when good befalleth him, he becometh niggardly," its meaning
would not have been at all easy to understand.

The following is an illustration of the first kind of _Mujmal_ sentences:
"Stand for prayer (salat) and give alms," (zakat.) Both salat and zakat are
'Mushtarik' words. The people, therefore, did not understand this verse, so
they applied to Muhammad for an explanation. He explained to them that
"salat" might mean the ritual of public prayer, {52} standing to say the
words "God is great," or standing to repeat a few verses of the Quran; or
it might mean private prayer. The primitive meaning of "zakat" is growing.
The Prophet, however, fixed the meaning here to that of "almsgiving," and
said, "Give of your substance one-fortieth part."

(4.) _Mutashabih._ These are sentences so difficult that men cannot
understand them, a fact referred to in Sura iii. 3. (Ante. p. 49), nor will
they do so until the day of resurrection. The Prophet, however, knew their
meaning. Such portions are the letters A, L, M; A, L, R; Y, A at the
commencement of some of the Suras.[53] Such expressions also as "God's
hand," "The face of God," "God sitteth," &c., come under this category.

The next point to be considered is the _use_ of words in the Quran, and
here again the same symmetrical division into four classes is found,
_viz_:--

(1.) _Haqiqat_, that is, words which are used in their literal meaning, as
"ruku'," a prostration, and "salat" in the sense of prayer.

(2.) _Majaz_, or words which are used in a figurative sense, as "salat" in
the sense of "namaz" a liturgical service.

(3.) _Sarih_, or words the meaning of which is quite evident, as, "Thou art
_divorced_," "Thou art _free_."

(4.) _Kinayah_, or words which, being used in a metaphorical sense, require
the aid of the context to make their meaning clear, as: "Thou art
separated," which may, as it {53} stands alone, mean "Thou art divorced."
This class also includes all pronouns the meaning of which is only to be
known from the context, _e.g._ one day the Prophet not knowing who knocked
at his door said, "Who art thou?" The man replied, "It is I." Muhammad
answered, "Why dost thou say I, I? Say thy name that I may know who thou
art." The pronoun "I" is here 'kinayah.'

The most important and most difficult branch of exegesis is "istidlal," or
the science o