The Qur ān's Ta wīl concerning the Stations of Ahl al-Bayt; Principles and Presuppositions

Ta’wīl (esoteric interpretation) of the Qur’ān’s is among the frequently-talked-about issues in the Islamic culture. One of the challenging discourses in this field is how to interact and interpret many traditions that correspond certain verses of the Qur’ān to the Ahl al-Bayt (A.S.). Some of the scholars of Qur’ānic studies have tried to suggest certain approaches for analyzing these traditions and to clarify what relation the esoteric meaning mentioned in these traditions have with the apparent meaning of the verse and how one can reach that esoteric meaning from this apparent meaning. Some of these suggested approaches are: “the rule of applicability and comparison”, “the ultimate goal of creation and the unity of criteria in various evidences”, “the rule of devising words for the gist of meaning”, “allegory in isnād (predication) or other rhetorical arrays”, “similarity of disposition and the unity of wills.” The present writing examines and evaluates these approaches and finally sets forth its selected theory, based on the notion that “the Qur’ānic expressions are allegorical.”