Esoteric interpretation of the Quran

The Arabic word taʾwīl was synonymous with conventional interpretation in its earliest use, but it came to mean a process of discerning its most fundamental understandings.

[2] The Arabic words taʾwīl and tafsīr both mean roughly "explanation, elucidation, interpretation, and commentary"; but from the end of the 8th century CE onwards, taʾwīl was commonly regarded as the esoteric or mystical interpretation of the Quran, while the conventional exegesis of the Quran was referred to using the term tafsīr.

In Q7:172, the Quran states:[9] According to the above verse, before the Creation, God called the future humanity out of the loins of the not-yet-created Adam and addressed them with the words: "Am I not your Lord?

In the exoteric sense, the Quran requires Muslims to perform ritual cleansing of their hands before touching it.

Esoteric interpreters were of the opinion that the Quran implies that individuals with spiritual purity are able to grasp its meaning.

For example, Hamadani, in his book Tamheedat ('Preludes'), interprets Q104:6–7 ("It is a fierce fire created by God, to penetrate into the hearts.

Sufis believe that Quran's initial letters (Muqatta'at) conceal mysteries that can not be fully expressed in words and should be understood as mystic experiences.

[13] In Sufi commentaries of the Quran, Sufism concepts are commonly related such as the hierarchical levels of realities in human experience (human, supra-sensible, and divine levels), the various states of consciousness such as sustaining in hell (khaledeen in gahanm) and residing in paradise (khaldeed in janna), and the ideas concerning the six subtleties (lataif-e-sitta).

[14] A hadith attributed to Muhammad is essential in understanding the inward aspects of the Quran, and it is fundamental to Quranic exegesis:[10] There is a statement made by the Imam, Jafar Sadiq (d. 765 CE):[10] The most important author of esoteric interpretation prior to the 11th century was Sulami (d. 1021 CE); without his work, most of the very early Sufi commentaries would not have been preserved.

It conveys a spurious textual tradition and has little reliable material, but the items cited on Ja'far al-Sadiq's authority in Sulami's book appear to be based on identifiable chains of transmitters.

[14] Several prominent Ismaili thinkers explained that ta’wil should be used to understand sharia law, sacred history and creation itself, as well as the anthropomorphic descriptions of God.

Qadi al-Nu'man, a famous Ismaili Muslim jurist of the Fatimid period, believed that it is important to recognize and understand the symbolism behind the stories in the Quran based on certain verses that hint to an inner meaning, such as: “Thus your Lord will choose you and teach you the symbolic interpretation (ta’wil) of events (ahadith)” (Quran 12:21).

Nasir-i Khusraw, a prominent Fatimid dignitary, explained that through revelation (tanzil), intellectual matters were transformed into a state that could be understood by humankind.

Al Mu’ayyad fi l-Din al-Shirazi, another prominent Ismaili thinker, further explains that ta’wil is what reunites the beginning (source) and the end (destination) of the circle of existence.

Some interpreters[weasel words] are known to have overplayed the allegorical aspects of the Quran by claiming privileged understanding of its contents and distorting its meaning.

Taftazani (d. 1390) believed that pure gnosis and perfection of faith can be achieved when the subtle allusions of the Quran are harmonized with the literal sense.