Hadith: If you see those who follow the ambiguous verses, they are those whom Allah has named; so, beware of them

عَنْ ‌عَائِشَةَ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهَا قَالَتْ:
تَلَا رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ هَذِهِ الْآيَةَ: {هُوَ الَّذِي أَنْزَلَ عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ مِنْهُ آيَاتٌ مُحْكَمَاتٌ هُنَّ أُمُّ الْكِتَابِ وَأُخَرُ مُتَشَابِهَاتٌ فَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ زَيْغٌ فَيَتَّبِعُونَ مَا تَشَابَهَ مِنْهُ ابْتِغَاءَ الْفِتْنَةِ وَابْتِغَاءَ تَأْوِيلِهِ، وَمَا يَعْلَمُ تَأْوِيلَهُ إِلَّا اللَّهُ، وَالرَّاسِخُونَ فِي الْعِلْمِ يَقُولُونَ آمَنَّا بِهِ كُلٌّ مِنْ عِنْدِ رَبِّنَا وَمَا يَذَّكَّرُ إِلَّا أُولُو الْأَلْبَابِ} [آل عمران: 7]. قَالَتْ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «فَإِذَا رَأَيْتِ الَّذِينَ يَتَّبِعُونَ مَا تَشَابَهَ مِنْهُ فَأُولَئِكَ الَّذِينَ سَمَّى اللهُ، فَاحْذَرُوهُمْ».
[صحيح] - [متفق عليه] - [صحيح البخاري: 4547]

‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported:
The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) recited this verse: {It is He Who has sent down to you the Book. In it are definite verses, which are the foundation of the Book, while others are ambiguous. Those with deviant hearts follow the ambiguous verses, seeking discord and seeking their [false] interpretation. But no one knows their [true] interpretation except Allah. And those who are well-grounded in knowledge say: "We believe in it. It is all from our Lord." None will take heed except people of understanding} [Surat Āl ‘Imrān: 7]. Then, he said: "If you see those who follow the ambiguous verses, they are those whom Allah has named; so, beware of them."
[Authentic hadith] - [Narrated by Bukhari & Muslim] - [Sahih Bukhari - 4547]

Explanation

The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) recited this verse: {It is He Who has sent down to you the Book. In it are definite verses, which are the foundation of the Book, while others are ambiguous. Those with deviant hearts follow the ambiguous verses, seeking discord and seeking their [false] interpretation. But no one knows their [true] interpretation except Allah. And those who are well-grounded in knowledge say: "We believe in it. It is all from our Lord." None will take heed except people of understanding.} Allah Almighty says in this verse that it is He Who sent down the Qur’an to His Prophet and that it contains clear verses that give specific unambiguous rulings; these serve as the foundation and points of reference of the Book, and they are to be referred to when differences arise. And it contains other verses that may give a number of potential meanings, over which people may get confused or they may think there is a contradiction between one of those verses and another verse. Then, Allah points out how people deal with those verses. Those whose hearts are deviated from the truth abandon the definite verses and turn to the ambiguous ones, thereby seeking to create misconceptions and mislead people. On the other hand, those well-grounded in knowledge know these ambiguous verses and refer them to the definite ones, believing in them and that they are from Allah Almighty and that they cannot be confusing or contradictory. But no one remembers this or takes heed from it except the people of sound minds. Then, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) told the Mother of the Believers ‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that, if she saw those who follow the ambiguous verses, then indeed they are the ones named by Allah in the verse that reads: {Those with deviant hearts}; so, beware of them and do not listen to them.