and another scholar related from al-Khalīl ibn Ahmad an explanation like that of Abū ‘Ubaydah: that it means to ascend and rise. He also cited supporting evidence from Arab usage. They related from Ibn ‘Abbās that he said, “He rose over means He settled.” Ibn Qutaybah and others said likewise.

Some have claimed that their statement, “The rising over is known,” means that the occurrence of the word istiwā’ in the Quran is known. This is false. Its occurrence in the Quran is something obvious, known to everyone, and is not what anyone was asking about. Rather, when the questioner asked, “How did He rise over?” he was asking about the manner. They explained to him that we do not know the manner, but we do know the meaning of rising over. This indicates that there is, in reality, a manner, though it is unknown to us. Ibn al-Mājishūn, Ahmad ibn Hanbal and others said likewise.

Even if it were supposed that there were no manner, a manner cannot be denied of something nonexistent. Thus, if there were no actual rising over, it would not be valid to deny a manner of it. If what was meant were taking control or something similar, there would be no need to say in that regard, “The manner is unknown,” or “known.” This has been discussed at length elsewhere.

The purpose here is to explain the term ta’wīl (interpretation), and that its meaning in the Quran and in the speech of those who speak the language of the Quran differs from its meaning among those who have adopted the convention of