Likewise, many commentators other than Ibn al-Jawzī explain the difference between interpretation and explanation at the beginning of their books, but then, when discussing the verse, speak of interpretation as something none but Allah knows. Al-Thaʿlabī, al-Baghawī and others do this. They state, in al-Baghawī’s wording:

“A warning of punishment has been reported concerning those who speak about the Quran on the basis of their own opinions. This applies to those who say something of their own accord without knowledge. As for interpretation—construing a verse, through inference, as bearing a possible meaning consistent with what precedes and follows it and not contrary to the Book—this has been permitted for scholars. As for explanation, which consists of discussing the circumstances of a verse’s revelation, its setting and its narrative