“the first of the Muslims” and “the first day.” The sense of returning and reverting belongs to the second term of the possessive construction, not the first.

When we say “the āl of so-and-so,” however, the return is to the first term. For the elative form denotes pre-eminence in being that to which others ultimately return and refer. Its indication of pre-eminence shows that it denotes a destination and point of reference, not something that itself returns and refers elsewhere. There is no pre-eminence in something’s returning and referring to another; rather, pre-eminence lies in its being that to which others return and refer. Since the form is an elative, it indicates pre-eminence in being a destination and point of reference. Absolute pre-eminence in this respect requires that it be what precedes and comes at the beginning. And Allah knows best.

Thus, the ta’wīl of speech is that to which the speaker directs it, that to which the speech leads, or that to which the speaker takes it to refer. A verbal noun on the taf‘īl pattern may accompany a verb of a different pattern, as in His words:

“And devote yourself to Him with complete devotion.”

Here the wording is wa-tabattal ilayhi tabtīlan. It is therefore permissible to say ta’awwala al-kalāmu ilā hādhā al-ma‘nā ta’wīlan (“the speech led to this meaning”), ta’awwaltu al-kalāma ta’wīlan (“I interpreted the speech”), and awwaltu al-kalāma ta’wīlan (“I interpreted the speech”).

The verbal noun stands in place of an adjective. A verbal noun may function adjectivally with an active meaning, as in ‘adl (a just person), sawm (one who fasts), and fitr (one who is not fasting). It may also carry a passive meaning, as with darb (“striking”) in “a dirham struck by the emir,” and khalq (“creation”) in “This is Allah’s creation.”

Ta’wīl, then, is that to which speech is directed, that to which it leads, or that to which it itself comes. Speech returns and reverts, comes to rest, leads, and is directed only to its reality