Concerning this verse there are two transmitted views and two ways of reciting it. Some readers stop at His words, “except Allah,” and hold that those firmly grounded in knowledge do not know the interpretation of the ambiguous passages; none knows it but Allah alone. Others do not pause there; rather, they connect it to His statement, “and those firmly grounded in knowledge say, ‘We believe in it; all of it is from our Lord’” (Āl ʿImrān 3:7), and say that the firmly grounded in knowledge do know the interpretation of what is ambiguous. Both views are reported from groups among the early generations.

These scholars explain that the descriptive clause (ḥāl) may pertain to the item that is conjoined while not applying to the item it is conjoined to, as in His words: “and those who came after them say, ‘Our Lord, forgive us and our brothers…,’” meaning: they are saying this. Thus, each of the two positions is true in its own respect, for the term taʾwīl can signify exegesis and knowledge of a verse’s meanings, and those firmly grounded in knowledge do indeed know the exegesis of the Qur’an. Al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī said, “Allah has not sent down a single verse without loving that people know why it was revealed and what He intended by it.” At other times, however, taʾwīl refers to matters whose reality Allah has kept to Himself—such as the manner of what He has reported about His own Self, the details of the Last Day, the exact time of the Hour, the descent of Jesus, and the like.