The word · The Qur’an

التَّأْويل

Ta'wil

Interpretation, and in a second sense the reality a statement finally turns out to refer to.

Also written · Tawil · Ta'weel · Taweel · Taawil · Tavil · Batin · interpretation · inner meaning · esoteric interpretation

The meaning

What Ta'wil means in Islam

Early scholars used ta'wil and tafsir almost interchangeably; Tabari's great commentary carries the word in its title. Later it came to mean moving a word away from its apparent sense on the strength of evidence, which is where much theological argument lives. In Shia and Sufi writing the word often carries a further sense, an inner meaning beneath the plain one, which Sunni scholars accept only where it does not cancel the plain meaning.

Evidence · Scholars differ · The scholars read this one differently