anyone to undertake its interpretation except someone whose standing among the firmly grounded has been conclusively established. Hence, interpretation is forbidden to all laypeople and to students who have not yet reached the level of rootedness in knowledge. Whoever argues that interpretation is permissible for everyone, in every case contradicts the explicit text.
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From the proofs we have marshalled it is established that the interpretation (taʾwīl) of the ambiguous passages (mutashabih) is known only to Allah Most High; that whoever pursues them is among the deviant; and that engaging in such interpretation is forbidden to anyone whatsoever. It therefore follows that the mutashabih refers to what concerns the attributes of Allah Most High and the like, not—as some have claimed—to the concise passages (mujmal), to that whose meaning is obscure only to those other than the fully verified scholars, or to the disjointed letters, for parts of these are in fact understood by certain scholars, and Ibn ʿAbbās and others have spoken about their interpretation. Consequently, they cannot rightly be classified as mutashabih. Allah knows best.
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As for the Sunnah, the evidence comes from two angles:
The first is the Prophet’s ﷺ statement, “The worst of matters are those newly introduced,” and this (speculative interpretation) is one of those innovations, for it did not exist in the era of the Prophet ﷺ nor in the era of his Companions. Likewise, he said, “Every newly introduced matter is an innovation, and every innovation is misguidance.” He also said, “Whoever speaks about the Quran on the basis of his own opinion has erred, even if he is correct,” and this is precisely speaking about the Quran according to opinion. Furthermore, he said concerning the saved faction, “That which I and my Companions are upon,” while informing us that everything else is in the Fire. And he ﷺ said, “Every matter that is not upon our way is rejected,” whereas this interpretation is clearly not upon his way.