and they were mistaken in that.

The meaning of taʾwīl
The term taʾwīl is employed in three distinct senses.

1. Taʾwīl in the usage of many later scholars
   In the terminology of numerous later scholars, taʾwīl means to divert a word from the stronger of its two possible meanings to the weaker one on the basis of a corroborating proof. Under this nomenclature, therefore, the sense that agrees with the word’s apparent import is not called taʾwīl. They imagined that this is what Allah intended by the word taʾwīl, and thus believed that the scriptural texts possess an interpretation contrary to their outward meaning, known only to Allah—or, in their view, to those who practice taʾwīl.

Yet many of these same people also say, “The texts must be taken according to their literal wording, and that literal wording is what is meant,” while simultaneously claiming that the texts have, in this very sense, a hidden taʾwīl known only to Allah. Such a contradiction has ensnared many who affiliate themselves with the Sunnah, including followers of the four Imams and others.

2. Taʾwīl in the usage of the majority of exegetes
   The second meaning is that taʾwīl refers to the explanation of a discourse, whether it accords