Discuss ta’wil?
Ta’wil is to dismiss the apparent and literal meaning of the phrase and to assign to it a specific meaning in accordance with the religion and the language. This is permissible in every Ayah or hadith whose apparent meanings may imply that Allah has physical hands, or a physical face, that He sits on the Throne, that He occupies a certain direction, or that He is attributed with attributes of the creation.
Surat Al ^Imran, Ayah 7 means, “No one knows the true meaning of these verses except Allah and the people who are firmly rooted in the knowledge of the Religion.” Ibn ^Abbas, for whom the Prophet, made a supplication, said, “I am among those who are firmly rooted in the knowledge of the religion.” The hadith related by al-Bukhariyy, Ibn Majah, and al-Hafidh Ibn al-Jawziyy relays that the Prophet supplicated to Allah for Ibn ^Abbas by saying, “O Allah, teach him the knowledge of the hadith and the ta’wil of the Book” (i.e. the true meanings of the Qur’anic verses).
