Allah Most High also says:

“If you disagree over anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger, if you believe in Allah and the Last Day. That is better and best in outcome.”

They explained this as meaning: best in its consequences and final outcome. Here, ta’wīl is the outcome of their action—referring matters to the Book and the Sunnah. In Sūrat Yūsuf, ta’wīl concerns accounts of dreams; in al-A‘rāf and Yūnus, it concerns the Quran, as it does in Sūrat Āl ‘Imrān.

In the account of Moses and the learned man, Allah Most High says:

“He said, ‘This is the parting between you and me. I will tell you the explanation of what you could not bear patiently.’”

The passage continues to His words:

“‘I did not do it of my own accord. That is the explanation of what you could not bear patiently.’”

Here, ta’wīl concerns the actions performed by the learned man: damaging the ship without its owner’s permission, killing the boy, and restoring the wall. It is thus the ta’wīl of an action, not of a statement. This is because ta’wīl is the verbal noun of awwalahu–yu’awwiluhu, just as tahwīl is the verbal noun of hawwala, and ta‘wīl that of ‘awwala. Awwala–yu’awwilu is the transitive form of āla–ya’ūlu–awlan, like hāla–yahūlu–hawlan.

The expression āla–ya’ūlu means to return or revert to something. From this comes ma’āl, meaning that to which something ultimately returns. Related to it through “greater derivation” is maw’il, for the latter comes from wa’ala, whereas the former comes from awila.

Maw’il means a place of return. Allah Most High says:

“They will find no refuge apart from Him.”

Among the words related to it through “lesser derivation” is āl, for a person’s āl are those who