SYNTHESIS AND CONCLUSIONS:
There are three stages to understanding the Qurʾan: (a) tarjamah (translation), relating to the outward words and their meaning; (b) tafsīr, explaining the meanings of the verses; and (c) taʾwīl, about which three views have been presented. They are:
The popular view, that some meanings of [particular Qurʾanic] words and/or the ultimate meaning sought is taʾwīl;
Ibn ʿArabī’s view, that the hidden meaning that is bestowed by God Almighty is taʾwīl;
ʿAllāmah Ṭabāṭabāʾī’s view, that Qurʾanic words and meanings are derived from reality and that reality is taʾwīl.
According to the popular view, taʾwīl is not related to the whole of the Qurʾan, but only to certain verses, namely, those that are ambiguous. According to Ibn ‘Arabi’s view taʾwīl is possible for the whole of the Qurʾan, regardless of whether they are ambiguous or clear verses. This is so because the whole of the Qurʾan has hidden meanings that are bestowed from God, the Most Exalted. According to ʿAllāmah Ṭabāṭabāʾī as well, taʾwīl of the Qurʾan belongs to the entire Qurʾan, because the reality of all verses exists independent of their words.
According to the popular view and that of ʿAllāmah Ṭabāṭabāʾī, knowledge of taʾwīl is with God and those firmly rooted in knowledge (i.e., Ahl al-Bayt). However, according to Ibn ‘Arabi, those rooted in knowledge are all gnostics, whether they are of Ahl al-Bayt or not.
According to the popular view and that of Ibn ‘Arabi, taʾwīl is related to Qurʾanic words and their meaning. However, according to ʿAllāmah Ṭabāṭabāʾī, taʾwīl is not related to words, but rather to reality and objective existence.
The meaning of the Qurʾanic verse, “nor is there a single grain in the darkness of the earth, or anything, fresh or withered, that is not written in a clear Book”[13] is best understood if we accept ʿAllāmah Ṭabāṭabāʾī’s view. That is to say, in every age and era the reality of the words of the Holy Qurʾan can only be explained by Ahl al-Bayt. It is so because only these personalities are truly deserving of the title, “those who have knowledge of the Book.”[14] Hence, in every age, Ahl al-Bayt are needed to understand the Qurʾan, regardless of whether the particular science in question regards legal rulings, wisdom, or exhortations. Only Ahl al-Bayt can explicate the Qurʾan’s true meaning and purpose, for only they fully know the reality of things.
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Notes
1. ⇧ Qurʾan, Āl ʿImrān (3):5.
2. ⇧ Lisān al-ʿArab, s.v. “f-s-r.”
3. ⇧ Tafsīr al-Mīzān, vol. 1 (Beirut: Muʾassasah al-Aʿlamī li-l-Maṭbūʿāt, 1390 S.H.), p.4.
4. ⇧ Lisān al-ʿArab, s.v. “a-w-l.”
5. ⇧ Qurʾan, Yūsuf (12):100.
6. ⇧ Qurʾan, Āl ʿImrān (3):7.
7. ⇧ Muḥyi al-Dīn ibn al-ʿArabī, “Maʿrifat al-Ishārāt,” in al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyyah, vol. 10 (n.p., n.d.), p. 279. See also, Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd, Falsafat al-Taʾwīl (al-Markaz al-Thiqāfī al-ʿArabī, 2014), p. 267-8.
8. ⇧ al-Mīzān, vol. 3, p. 49.
9. ⇧ al-Mīzān, vol. 3, p. 46-7.
10. ⇧ al-Mīzān, vol. 3, p. 23.
11. ⇧ Qurʾan, al-Anʿām (6):59. “Not a grain in the earth’s shadows, not a thing, fresh or withered, but it is in a Book Manifest.
12. ⇧ Comparable aḥādīth include the following hadith from Imam al-Bāqir (ʿa): “Only a liar will claim to have collected the entire Qurʾan as it was revealed [other than the Ahl al-Bayt.] None have compiled, memorized, and preserved [the Qurʾan] exactly as Allah revealed except for ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib and the Imams after him.” (Al-Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 1 (Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyyah, 1407), hadith #1, p. 228) And: “…only he who is addressed by the Qurʾan truly knows it.” (Al-Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol 8, hadith #485, p. 311.) For more such aḥādīth, see Muḥsin al-Fayḍ al-Kāshānī, “Towards the Sacred Text: The Importance and Value of the Qurʾan in the Life of a Believer,” translated by Azhar Sheraze.
13. ⇧ Qurʾan, al-Anʿām (6):59.
14. ⇧ Qurʾan, al-Raʿd (13):43.
http://www.aiseminary.org/al-sidrah/qurʾanic-view-taʾwil-comparing-views-ibn-ʿarabi-ʿallamah-ṭabaṭabaʾi/
@AbodeofWisdom
There are three stages to understanding the Qurʾan: (a) tarjamah (translation), relating to the outward words and their meaning; (b) tafsīr, explaining the meanings of the verses; and (c) taʾwīl, about which three views have been presented. They are:
The popular view, that some meanings of [particular Qurʾanic] words and/or the ultimate meaning sought is taʾwīl;
Ibn ʿArabī’s view, that the hidden meaning that is bestowed by God Almighty is taʾwīl;
ʿAllāmah Ṭabāṭabāʾī’s view, that Qurʾanic words and meanings are derived from reality and that reality is taʾwīl.
According to the popular view, taʾwīl is not related to the whole of the Qurʾan, but only to certain verses, namely, those that are ambiguous. According to Ibn ‘Arabi’s view taʾwīl is possible for the whole of the Qurʾan, regardless of whether they are ambiguous or clear verses. This is so because the whole of the Qurʾan has hidden meanings that are bestowed from God, the Most Exalted. According to ʿAllāmah Ṭabāṭabāʾī as well, taʾwīl of the Qurʾan belongs to the entire Qurʾan, because the reality of all verses exists independent of their words.
According to the popular view and that of ʿAllāmah Ṭabāṭabāʾī, knowledge of taʾwīl is with God and those firmly rooted in knowledge (i.e., Ahl al-Bayt). However, according to Ibn ‘Arabi, those rooted in knowledge are all gnostics, whether they are of Ahl al-Bayt or not.
According to the popular view and that of Ibn ‘Arabi, taʾwīl is related to Qurʾanic words and their meaning. However, according to ʿAllāmah Ṭabāṭabāʾī, taʾwīl is not related to words, but rather to reality and objective existence.
The meaning of the Qurʾanic verse, “nor is there a single grain in the darkness of the earth, or anything, fresh or withered, that is not written in a clear Book”[13] is best understood if we accept ʿAllāmah Ṭabāṭabāʾī’s view. That is to say, in every age and era the reality of the words of the Holy Qurʾan can only be explained by Ahl al-Bayt. It is so because only these personalities are truly deserving of the title, “those who have knowledge of the Book.”[14] Hence, in every age, Ahl al-Bayt are needed to understand the Qurʾan, regardless of whether the particular science in question regards legal rulings, wisdom, or exhortations. Only Ahl al-Bayt can explicate the Qurʾan’s true meaning and purpose, for only they fully know the reality of things.
____________________________________
Notes
1. ⇧ Qurʾan, Āl ʿImrān (3):5.
2. ⇧ Lisān al-ʿArab, s.v. “f-s-r.”
3. ⇧ Tafsīr al-Mīzān, vol. 1 (Beirut: Muʾassasah al-Aʿlamī li-l-Maṭbūʿāt, 1390 S.H.), p.4.
4. ⇧ Lisān al-ʿArab, s.v. “a-w-l.”
5. ⇧ Qurʾan, Yūsuf (12):100.
6. ⇧ Qurʾan, Āl ʿImrān (3):7.
7. ⇧ Muḥyi al-Dīn ibn al-ʿArabī, “Maʿrifat al-Ishārāt,” in al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyyah, vol. 10 (n.p., n.d.), p. 279. See also, Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd, Falsafat al-Taʾwīl (al-Markaz al-Thiqāfī al-ʿArabī, 2014), p. 267-8.
8. ⇧ al-Mīzān, vol. 3, p. 49.
9. ⇧ al-Mīzān, vol. 3, p. 46-7.
10. ⇧ al-Mīzān, vol. 3, p. 23.
11. ⇧ Qurʾan, al-Anʿām (6):59. “Not a grain in the earth’s shadows, not a thing, fresh or withered, but it is in a Book Manifest.
12. ⇧ Comparable aḥādīth include the following hadith from Imam al-Bāqir (ʿa): “Only a liar will claim to have collected the entire Qurʾan as it was revealed [other than the Ahl al-Bayt.] None have compiled, memorized, and preserved [the Qurʾan] exactly as Allah revealed except for ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib and the Imams after him.” (Al-Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 1 (Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyyah, 1407), hadith #1, p. 228) And: “…only he who is addressed by the Qurʾan truly knows it.” (Al-Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol 8, hadith #485, p. 311.) For more such aḥādīth, see Muḥsin al-Fayḍ al-Kāshānī, “Towards the Sacred Text: The Importance and Value of the Qurʾan in the Life of a Believer,” translated by Azhar Sheraze.
13. ⇧ Qurʾan, al-Anʿām (6):59.
14. ⇧ Qurʾan, al-Raʿd (13):43.
http://www.aiseminary.org/al-sidrah/qurʾanic-view-taʾwil-comparing-views-ibn-ʿarabi-ʿallamah-ṭabaṭabaʾi/
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