and we also know that life is not identical to knowledge, that knowledge is not identical to power, that power is not identical to hearing, and that hearing is not identical to sight—and so it is with all the remaining attributes and names. Yet we cannot fathom the true realities of these meanings or their precise nature as they relate to Allah, exalted is He.

These two senses of taʾwīl are the ones acknowledged in the Quran, the Sunnah, and the discourse of the early generations.

A third meaning of taʾwīl is: to divert a word from its predominant meaning to a less likely meaning on the strength of evidence that requires it—in other words, to shift the word away from its apparent sense to one that contradicts that appearance because a proof demands it.

This is the technical usage adopted by many later scholars of jurisprudence and legal theory, and it is what most of the later writers have in mind when they debate the taʾwīl of the texts on the divine attributes—whether such taʾwīl is praiseworthy or blameworthy, correct or erroneous.

The precise ruling is this: if sound evidence supports the shift, it is a legitimate and commendable taʾwīl that must be followed; in that case it reverts to the first meaning of taʾwīl, namely explanation, because explaining speech is nothing more than steering it toward what the speaker intended, whether that intent accords with the surface wording or departs from it—so long as we are certain it is what the speaker meant.

An example is Allah’s words: “The command of Allah is coming, so do not seek to hasten it” (16:1). Allah is here warning His servants about a future event, not informing them of something that has already arrived and passed, as the phrase “so do not seek to hasten it” makes clear.

Another example is His words: “So when you recite the Quran, seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Satan” (16:98). The surface wording suggests “once you have finished reciting,” whereas the intended meaning is “when you are about to