Tabatabai explains that ta’wil is not in opposition to the...

Tabatabai explains that ta’wil is not in opposition to the actual text but is used to extend the idea expressed to include a further meaning.[^9] Also, sufficient deliberation upon the Qur’anic verses and the hadith of the Imams will show that the Qur’an never uses enigmatic methods of explanation. “What has been rightly called ta’wil or hermeneutic interpretation of the Holy Qur’an is not concerned with certain truths and realities that transcend the comprehension of the common run of men”.

In fact, “the whole of the Qur’an possesses the sense of ta’wil , of esoteric meaning, which cannot be comprehended directly through human thought alone.” Only the Prophet and the pure among the saints can contemplate these meanings in this world.

“On the Day of Resurrection, the ta’wil of the Qur’an will be revealed to everyone.”[^10] • The abrogating ( nasikh) and the abrogated (mansukh) verses Abrogating verses are those which are applicable and relevant at all times and abrogated verses are not relevant and have already been fulfilled.[^11] • The explicit ( muhkam) and the implicit (mutashabih) verses The verse 7 in the sura 3 of the Qur’an divides the Qur’an into two parts: the explicit and the implicit, the clear and the allegorical, or the muhkam and the mutashabih.

The verses, which are explicit and immediate in their message, are incapable of being misinterpreted. The implicit verses are not of this nature, but seem to express a meaning containing a further truer meaning whose interpretation is known only to God.

This view is accepted by both the Sunnite and the Shi’ite scholars; however, the Shi’ites believe that the Prophet and the Imams of his family also understood the hidden meanings and maintain that the ordinary man must seek knowledge of the implicit verses from them (the Prophet and his family).[^12] Tabatabai relates from the Imams that each verse, even if its meaning is not apparent or explicit, can be explained by reference to other verses.

Thus, the real meaning of the implicit verses can be found in relation to the explicit verses and the assertion that no means exist for understanding the implicit verses is fallacious. He also reports a prophetic hadith (reported by al-‘Amili, in al-Durr al-Manthur , vol.2, p.8): “In truth, the Qur’an was not revealed so that one part may contradict the other, but rather was revealed so that one part may verify the other.