A007
Surah: 003 - Ayah: 007
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3:7
No one knows the practical tawil (amali ta'wil) of the Qur'an except those who are the rasikhun fi'l-ilm (3:7). Among the rasikhun fi'l-ilm. the first is the Prophet, then his succesor, Mawlana Ali, and the Imams from his progeny.
In the Wise Qur'an (3:7) the rasikhun fil-ilm are mentioned, which means those who are firmly grounded in knowledge.
The third group is composed of mutakallims (theologians) who accept the tanzil, but unlike the literalists seek the ta'wil of the allegorical verses. In the famous verse (3:7) on ta'wil, they do not stop after Allah, but continue the sentence and include the rasikhun fi'l-ilm, "those who are well grounded in knowledge," with God in the knowing of the allegorical verses. However, they arrogate to themselves the distinction of being the rasikhun fi'l-Hlm and do not confine this distinction to the Prophets and the Imams from the ahUi bayt. Unlike the philosophers, they accept the tanzil as the source of ultimate knowledge, but in doing the ta'wil of the mutashabihdt, use their own intellect to derive conclusions.
The first group consists of the literalists who blindly accept the tanzil at face value, even when it comes to the Qur'an's anthropomorphic descriptions of God. While other Muslims sought to understand these passages by way of ta'wil, or esoteric interpretation, the literalists refused such explanations. The famous Qur'anic verse on ta'wil (3:7), used by others to justify the practice, was understood by the literalists to condemn it, by a simple difference of opinion on where one of the sentences ends. In the literalist reading, the verse may be rendered as follows:
He it is Who has sent down to you the Book, of which are unequivocal verses, they are the mother of the Book, and others are equivocal. As for those in whose hearts is perversity, they follow that [part of] it which is equivocal, seeking discord and seeking its ta'wil. But no one knows its ta'wil except Allah. And those who are well grounded in knowledge say: "We believe in the Book; the whole of it is from our Lord."\\
The literalists would end the pivotal sentence after the word Allah, confining the ta'wil to Him alone,to the exclusion of even the Prophet himself. However, the verse was read by many others as, "But no one knows its ta'wil except Allah and those who are well grounded in knowledge. They say: 'We believe in the Book; the whole of it is from our Lord.'"
He prefers to describe himself as a follower of the ahl al-bayt, the rasikhun (those well-grounded in knowledge, Qur'an 3:7) and mutahharun (the ones purified by God, Qur'an 30:30; 56:79). He includes himself among the people of tawil (esoteric interpretation) and ta'yid (divine help through the Holy Spirit). Alluding to this position, he concludes his Jami al- hikmatayn thus: "Every wise person who reads this book, in which we have mentioned the sayings of the sages of philosophy quoting them to answer every question and then rectifying and strengthening them with the tawili explanation and demonstration from the discoveries (mustanbatat) and deductions (mustakhrajat) of the rasikhun fil- ilm, let him look at them with the inner eye and may he duly reflect upon every point. If he finds a word or a point in a religious allusion or in a tawili expression that is not well-known among the renowned people of excellence from among the literati, poets and writers, let him not reject it, because the pearls of knowledge of true religion are strung on the threads of allegories (amthal) and concealed in the caskets of symbols (rumuz) that nobody can touch except the mutahharun, namely those who have seen the concealed secrets of the knowledge of [God's] mighty book and comprehended the writings of the splendid shariat"
Ta'wil (Ta'wil of the Qur'an)
The holy Prophet prayed for cAbdu’llah bin cAbbas bin cAbdu’l-Muttalib in these words: "O Allah, grant him the understanding of religion and teach him the ta'wil of the Qur'an." (al-Mustadrak, III, 615). On another occasion he prayed for him in this way: "O Allah! teach him the ta'wil of the Qur'an." (Ibid., p. 618).
Ta'wil (Wisdom of the Qur'an)
The above-mentioned Hadith is unanimously accepted and this is a clear proof of the fact that God has enriched those who are mentioned in the Qur'an as the rasikhun fi'l-cilm (3:7). Had it not been possible, then the Prophet would not have prayed for something impossible. Thus, ta'wil is another name of wisdom which nobody can deny.
ar-Rasikhuna fi'l-cilm (Those who are firm in knowledge)
In verse (3:7), it is mentioned: "While none knows its ta'wil except Allah and those (who are) firmly rooted in knowledge." Hazrat Imam Muhammad al-Baqir has said: "The Messenger of God is the most excellent among those who are firm in knowledge. He (God) has taught him all that which He reveals to him of tanzil and ta'wil and nothing was revealing to him, but he knew its ta'wil. Then after him the rasikhun fi’l cilm, who know the entire ta'wil of the Qur’an, are the awsiya' (sing. wasiyy), the legatees." (Daci'im, I, 22-23)
The ninth proof: “And nobody knows its tawil except Allah and those (who are) firmly rooted in knowledge; they say: We believe in it, all is from our Lord, but none heeds (this) save those endowed with intellect.” (3:7). In the exegesis of this verse, Imam Jafar as Sadiq says: “We are rasikhun fil ilm and we know its tawil. According to another narration the Imam said: “The messenger of God is the most excellent of the rasikhun fil ilm, who was taught by Allah all that was revealed to him of tanzil and tawil. And it was not befitting for God to reveal something to him without teaching him its tawil, then there are his legatees after him who know the tawil of the entire Quraan.”
If to understand the Qur’an had been an easy matter and it had not been required to refer to those who are well-grounded in knowledge (rasikhun fi’l-cilm, 3:7) this would have been the case first for those Muslims who were living in Arabia in the time of the holy Prophet, since by virtue of its language they were not only very near to the Qur’an but it had also descended physically according to the requirements of their circumstances and as solutions for their problems and necessary guidance for them etc., yet it is said to the Prophet:
“And we have revealed the Qur’an to you that you may make clear to human beings what has been revealed to them” (16:44).
Thus, to have the teacher of Qur’an in all times after the Prophet is indispensable and that teacher is the Imam of the time.
The intellectual and luminous status of the Qur’an and the Imam is that of God’s rope (3:103) and to hold it fast is to act according to the order and command of the Qur’an and the Imam. It means that the Qur’an should be obeyed according to the teachings and guidance of the Imam because he is well-grounded (rasikh, 3:7) in Qur’anic knowledge.
This verse has been referred 7 times.