المعنى الاصطلاحي :

Conflict between two or more valid non-contradictory opinions which can be reconciled.

الشرح المختصر :

"Ikhtilāf-ut-tanawwu‘" (difference based on variation) is a type of difference in opinion that is caused by one of two things: 1. Each party expresses the meaning concerning a statement different from the statement of the other, which indicates a different meaning from the other party. For example, the exegetes differed about the meaning of "as-sirāt al-mustaqeem" (the straight path). Some said: it is the Qur’an; others said: it is Islam; and yet others said: it is the Sunnah. All of these meanings are correct and non-contradictory. 2. Each party mentions a type of wording different from the other. Examples include the modes of Qur’an recitation on which the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, had different reports, the wording of the azan, and the "iqāmah", etc. The other type of difference is what involves contradiction, such as the difference of the heretic sects in explaining the verses of the noble Qur’an, including the interpretations of the Rafidites, the Sufis, the Ash‘arites, etc.