KHUTAB II - 11. TAFSĪR AND TA’WĪL

11.  TAFSĪR AND TA’WĪL

  (8 August 2003)

Brothers and sisters in Islam

Today I would like to talk about the historical perspective on the early development of Qur’ānic Exegesis (tafsīr). In dealing with the commentary of the Qur’ān, the mufassirīn (commentators of the Qur’ān) have different views on two important terms, namely, tafsīr and ta’wīl.

The word tafsīr is the mas.dar (verbal noun) from the second form of the verb fasara, namely, fassara which means “to explain”, “to expound”, “to interpret”, or “to comment”.  Tafsīr is “the explanation, revealing and exposing the sensible meaning”  (الإبَانَةُ وَ كَشْفُ وَ إظْهَارُ الْمَعْنَى ْالمَعْقُوْل) .  It is also said that the word fasara is the inversion (maqlūb) of the word safara which means “unveiling” or “uncovering”. For example, the expression  سَفَرَتِ المَرْأَة (the woman uncovered) means “she revealed her face”, and the expression أَسْفَرَ الصُبْح (the dawn uncovered) means “it unveiled the sky of the darkness of night with its light”.  Tafsīr, then, is the meanings of the verses of the Qur’ān which need explanation. According to Muh.ammad Fu’ād ‘Abd al‑Bāqī, the word tafsīr is mentioned once only in the Qur’ān, as follows: 

وَلَا يَأْتُونَكَ بِمَثَلٍ إِلَّا جِئْنَاكَ بِالْحَقِّ وَأَحْسَنَ تَفْسِيرًا . (الفرقان: ٣٣)

“And no question do they bring to thee but We reveal to thee

 the truth and the best explanation (tafsīr).” (Q. 25:33).

Technically, the definition of tafsīr as given by al‑Zarkashī (d. 794/1392) is as follows: “It is a knowledge through which the Book of Allah revealed to His Prophet Muh.ammad, peace be upon him, may be understood, its meaning may be clear, and its legal judgements and wisdom may be discovered..."

The word ta’wīl is the mas.dar from the second form of the verb āla (which means “returning”), namely, awwala which means “returning (something)”, as if the commentators return the verse to its various possible meanings. It is “the act of reducing of (two or more) senses or interpretations which an expression can have or allow to one that which suits the apparent meaning”. The Arabic expression āla ilayh means “he returned to him”, while awwala (or ta’awwala) ’l-kalām  means “he arranged, evaluated and explained the statement”  (دَبَّرَهُ وَ قَدَّّرَهُ وَ فَسَّرَهُ) .

The word ta’wīl according to Muh.ammad Fu’ād ‘Abd al‑Bāqī is mentioned 17 times in the Qur’ān, eight times in surah Yūsuf, dealing with the interpretation of dreams in general, and his dream in particular (see surah Yūsuf 12:6, 21, 36, 37, 44, 45, 100, 101), and two in surah al-Kahf, dealing with the interpretation, the meaning and the motive of the behaviour and deeds of the wise man called Khidr by commentators of the Qur’ān; he damaged the ship in which he was allowed to go aboard without payment, killed a boy without any apparent reason, and  voluntarily erected a wall on the point of falling (surah al-Kahf 18:78 and 82).   The term ta’wīl in surah al-A‘rāf 7:53 literally means “the interpretation (or the meaning) of the warnings in the Qur’ān” and translated as “the fulfilment, or the final meaning of the warning (in the Hereafter). The term ta’wīl in surah Āl ‘Imrān 3:7 deals with the interpretation of ambiguous verses in the Qur’ān.

Technically, according to early commentators in general, such as Abū ‘Ubaydah and al‑T.abarī, ta’wīl has the same meaning as tafsīr, so that ta’wīl al‑Qur’ān has the same meaning as tafsīr al‑Qur’ān. However, Muqātil ibn Sulaymān states on the authority of Ibn ‘Abbās that tafsīr is what is known by the ‘ulama’, while ta’wīl  by Allah alone. But Ibn ‘Abbās was also reported to have said that some tafsīrs are known to man, and others to Allah alone.  Later commentators, however, make the distinction between the two terms with divergent opinions:

(1)      tafsīr belongs to the s.ahābah, while ta’wīl belongs to the fuqahā’ (legists);

(2)      tafsīr, as mentioned by al‑Māturīdī (d. 333/944), has a single interpretation, while ta’wīl has many interpretations;

(3)       tafsīr, according to al‑Rāghib al‑As.bahānī (d. 502/1109), is more common than ta’wīl, as the former is used mostly for words and their synonyms, while the latter mostly for meanings and sentences;

(4)       tafsīr is used for both divine and secular books, ta’wīl for divine books only;

(5)       tafsīr is based on riwāyah (transmission of tradition), while ta’wīl involves dirāyah (comprehension), namely, research and investigation;

(6)       tafsīr is the obvious meaning of the verses, while ta’wīl is the deep meaning derived from the verses through research and investigation.  The commentators give the preponderance--which is neither definite nor final to avoid giving final interpretation to what is really meant by Allah in the Qur’ān--to what they think the most suitable meaning over other meanings.

Conclusion: Tafsīr and ta’wīl are the same but different in deeper meaning.