what it means. If you addressed him in the Arabic of the Quran, he would not understand you and would address you only in his own language. Alternatively, the expression may mean that no one has any means of knowing the actual reality of what is reported: what it is like, when it will occur, or what its magnitude is. For the term ta’wīl (interpretation) has several meanings, as we shall explain, if Allah Most High wills. Those who allow this possibility rely chiefly on His words, Most High:

“No one knows its interpretation except Allah.” [Āl ‘Imrān 7]

We shall explain that this does not mean that no one but Allah knows its explanation and meaning. Rather, that claim is mistaken, and the arguments he cites from the speculative theologians refute it. Yet this does not establish that ta’wīl, understood as shifting an expression from its more likely meaning to a less likely one, or interpretations that do not reveal the speaker’s intent, is what is meant by the ta’wīl mentioned in His words, Most High:

“No one knows its interpretation except Allah and those firmly grounded in knowledge.” [Āl ‘Imrān 7]

This is according to the other reading. Indeed, these speculative theologians do not know its interpretation in the sense of explaining it and knowing what is intended by it. For those firmly grounded in knowledge who