Chapter Five (1)
On the difference between distortive taʾwīl and exegetical taʾwīl, and that the first is impossible (2) in both declarative and prescriptive texts, whereas the second may validly occur in both.

Allah, exalted be He, speaks of taḥrīf (distortion)—and whenever He mentions it He condemns it—and He also speaks of tafsīr (explanation) and taʾwīl (interpretation).

Tafsīr is the clarification and elucidation of meaning. Allah, the Exalted, says: “They never come to you with an example but that We bring you the truth and the best explanation” (Surah al-Furqan, 25:33). This is the height of perfection: the meaning itself is true, and the wording that conveys it is the most eloquent and beautiful expression. Such is the nature of the Quran and the speech of the Messenger—may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him.

Taḥrīf, by contrast, is to divert the wording from its proper course and correct sense to something else. It is of two kinds: altering the wording itself and altering its meaning. Both kinds were originally perpetrated by the Jews; they are firmly grounded in them (3), the elders and forerunners of all who distort. They changed many of the words of the Torah, and whenever they were unable to alter its wording they distorted its meaning. For this reason they alone, among all nations, are described in the Quran as guilty of taḥrīf. Following in their footsteps are the Rāfiḍah, who resemble them as one arrow-feather matches another (4), and the Jahmiyyah, for they have followed the same