is among the astonishing distortions of the esotericist heretics. They likewise reinterpret matters of belief as well as religious practices, saying: “The five daily prayers mean knowing our secrets; fasting Ramadan means concealing our secrets; and pilgrimage means visiting our venerated shaykhs.”
The Jahmiyyah and the Rāfidah opened this door for them. Some of them began saying: “The clear record” is ʿAlī ibn Abī Tālib; “the accursed tree in the Quran” is the Umayyads; the cow they were commanded to slaughter is ʿĀ’ishah; and “pearls and coral” are al-Hasan and al-Husayn.
Some Sufis and Quran commentators have shared in distortions of this kind. For example, some say that “By the fig and the olive,” “and Mount Sinai,” and “and this secure city” mean Abū Bakr, ʿUmar, ʿUthmān, and ʿAlī—may Allah be pleased with them. Likewise, they interpret “like a plant that produces its shoots” as Abū Bakr; “then strengthens it” as ʿUmar; “then grows thick” as ʿUthmān; and “then stands firm upon its stalks” as ʿAlī.
Some Sufis also say that in “Go to Pharaoh, for he has transgressed,” Pharaoh is the heart; and in “Allah commands you to slaughter a cow,” the cow is the soul. There are other distortions of this kind. Some, however, convey a sound meaning, even though it is not the meaning intended by the wording. This is the case with most Sufi allusions. Some of this is not presented as exegesis, but rather as drawing lessons and analogies. This is a sound, scholarly approach, as with the words of Allah Most High:
“None touch it except the purified,”
and the words of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace:
“Angels do not enter a house in which there is a dog.”
Thus, if “none touch it except the purified” applies to its pages, then its meanings provide guidance only to hearts