was meant by the scriptural passages; then Imām Ibn al-Qayyim set forth these categories and concluded the section with the words: “So may Allah fight the partisans of distortion and taʾwīl (forced interpretation), the partisans of illusion, the partisans of agnosticism, and the partisans of anthropomorphism and likeness. How much of the true realities of faith and the treasures of divine knowledge have they been deprived of, and what have they taken in exchange but the rubbish of minds and the chaff of ideas! They are like people whose food was manna and salwā (quails), obtained without toil or hardship, yet they preferred fūm, lentils, and onions in its stead. It is Allah’s consistent way to abase whoever chooses the inferior over the superior and to make him a lesson for those of sound intellect.”
Chapter Nineteen: On the factors that make it easy for ignorant souls to accept taʾwīl even though it clashes with the exposition Allah taught humankind and ingrained in them to embrace.
Taʾwīl functions as a contradiction of human nature and the innate disposition on which the servant was created; it diverts understanding from flowing with what is familiar and customary to something unprecedented and unfamiliar. Whenever something proceeds in that manner, sound natures do not seek it; rather, they recoil from it and reject it. For that reason its proponents laid down principles and prepared causes that invite people to accept it. These come in various kinds, of which he mentioned six.
Chapter Twenty: Demonstrating that the people of taʾwīl can never establish a scriptural proof against any opponent.
He says therein: “It is well known that every purveyor of falsehood who censures his adversary for some falsehood in which he himself shares, whether in part or in kind, will never be able to refute his opponent’s argument and demolish his error; for the opponent gains leverage over him by the very same thing with which he sought leverage over the opponent.” He then elaborates on this, cites many of the Quran’s arguments, and points out that his purpose is to show that the Quran contains rational proofs and conclusive demonstrations, against which there is no hope of raising doubts or objections except for one who is stubborn and obstinate.