Section: On Taʾwīl (Interpretation)
Linguistically, taʾwīl means to return something to the end that is intended for it; it comes from the root awl, which conveys “return.”
Technically, it refers to bringing a statement back to the goal intended by it, either by explaining its meaning or by actualizing the implication it carries.
The term is used in three senses:
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Exegesis (tafsīr): clarifying a text by stating the meaning intended. Thus God relates that the two inmates said to Joseph, “Inform us of its interpretation” (12:36). The Prophet ﷺ prayed for Ibn ʿAbbās, “O Allah, give him understanding of the religion and teach him the interpretation.” Ibn ʿAbbās himself said, “I am among those firmly grounded in knowledge who know its interpretation.” Likewise, al-Ṭabarī and other commentators routinely write, “The interpretation of the Almighty’s saying is…,” meaning: its explanation.
Taʾwīl in this sense is well known to scholars.
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The ultimate outcome or concrete reality to which the words point. If the statement is informational, its taʾwīl is the very reality of what is being reported—in the case of God, the essence of His being and His attributes, which none but He knows. If the statement is a command or prohibition, its taʾwīl is the actual compliance with what is required.
• Example of an informational statement: “Are they waiting for anything but its interpretation?” (7:53)—that is, these deniers are waiting only for the reality of what they were told about resurrection and requital to come to pass.
• Another example is His words about Joseph: “This is the interpretation of my former vision; my Lord has made it come true” (12:100).