And specification, or substitution. These are the ones who were confused about the indication of generality that is realized in the absolute, so they interpreted it as specification or substitution. They said: If a discourse is addressed to the general, it is permissible for it to be intended for the specific. This opinion leads to the invalidation of many sound legal rules. Among them is that if a discourse is established, it is not lifted except by abrogation or specification by the one who established it. Among them is that the obligation is not by will (i.e., intending the specific while the general is absolute), but by command. So, interpreting the general as specific excludes some individuals from the discourse and makes it lifted in their regard. This is a great error in understanding the Sharia.

Literal and Metaphorical: The indication of a word to a meaning can be by way of literal meaning (haqiqa) or by way of metaphor (majāz). Al-Mahdi addressed these two ways in his explanation, clarifying for us how to carry rulings when they are ambiguous. Al-Mahdi did not provide a direct definition of literal meaning and metaphor, as is the custom of the Usuliyyun (jurists who study the principles of Islamic jurisprudence). Rather, they define them through multiple examples that clarify their reality. Literal meaning is like our saying "man" for a man himself, and "lion" for a lion himself, and other names specific to meanings. As for metaphor, it occurs in the speech of the Arabs in many types, including: simile, metaphor (isti'arah), omitting the possessor and substituting the possessed for it, describing the inanimate with the attribute of the animate, naming a thing by its origin, naming the cause by the effect, naming a thing by its greatest part, naming a thing by what is close to it, naming a thing by what accompanies it, naming a thing by what it shares with, naming a thing by what contradicts it, naming a thing by what negates it, naming a sentence by the name of a part, and naming meanings by the names of individuals.

The most sought-after: Ibn Tumart (168) and beyond. "Literal meaning is what remains in its subject matter, and metaphor is what is transferred from its subject matter," said Al-Juwayni (169).

See also Al-Bazdawi: Usul: 61-62.