Among the factors that support the evidential nature of the apparent meanings of the Quran, and the ability of the Arabs to understand their intention, are the following:

١. The Quran was revealed as proof of the messengership of the Prophet, and the Prophet (peace be upon him and his progeny) challenged all humankind to produce the like of at least one sura of it. This corroborates the fact that the Arabs understood the objectives of the Quran from its apparent meanings. Had the Quran been a riddle, it would have been inappropriate to call upon them to counter it, nor would its inimitability have been established for them, because they would not have been able to understand it. This is certainly contrary to the purpose of revealing the Quran and calling the people to believe in it.

٢. The well-known traditions commanding people to adhere to "the two things of high estimation"(thaqalayn), which the Prophet left among the Muslims, clearly dem‌ onstrate that the meaning of "adherence" to the Book is to follow it and to act upon its contents. It could not have had any other meaning.

٣. There are numerous sound traditions that demand that traditions should be com‌ pared to the Quran, and that any that disagree with it should be discarded andre‌ garded as invalid or vain; or the people should be forbidden to accept them; or the leading compilers [of the traditions] did not transmit them. These traditions explic‌ itly establish the evidential nature of the apparent meanings of the Quran, and that its apparent sense is comprehensible to all linguists who are competent in Arabic. Among these traditions are those which demand that the very prerequisites for a sound tradition should be examined in the light of the Book of God, and those of them that do not comply with it should be rejected.

٤. Inferences from Quranic verses were used by the Imams (peace be upon them)
in their legal and other rulings. Among these are [the following]:

a. The opinion of the Imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) when Zurara asked him how he knew that wiping [masb, in the ablution] was to be performed only on part of the head: The Imam replied, "[Because of the] position of [the pr!fposition] bi." ١
b. His opinion [expressed when] admonishing the Abbasid Caliph al-Man Ur
accepting the information given by a slar.derer: "Such a man is an evil liver, and God, the Exalted, said: If an evil liver brings you tidings, verify it lest you smite some folk in ignorance" (Q. ٤٩:٦).
c. His opinion regarding a person who prolongs sitting in the lavatory to listen to the
musical performance [in the ١١eighborhood], with the excuse that he had not come to it for that purpose. He [al-Sadiq] reminded him: "Have you not heard what God, the Exalted, said: Lo! the hearing and the sight and the heart--of each of these will be asked" (Q. ١٧:٣٦).
d. His opinion [expressed to] his son IsmaTI: "When the believers testify to you, then believe them, in accordance with what God, the Exalted, has said, ... who believes in God, and is true to the believers ..." (Q. ٩:٦١).
e. His opinion regarding the lawfulness of a slave marrying a thrice-divorced woman: "He is a husband, and God, the Exalted, has said, Until she has wedded another husband" (Q. ٢:٢٣٠). ٢
f. His opinion regarding the view that a woman who has been divorced three times does not become lawful [to her first husband] through a temporary marriage (aqd