A Review of the Hadiths with Exoteric and Esotric Meanings (Jari and Batn) through a Reflection on the Narration-based Issues in Al-Mizan

One of the prerequisites for the study of Hadith is the manner of classifying Hadiths which are concerned with the verses of the holy Quran. Prior to Allamah Tabatabaei the scholars who study the Quran and Hadith had dealt with the question of understanding the meaning of the Hadiths related to Qur’anic verses and explored some of the relevant topics, but none of them had discussed this subject as thoroughly as Allamah Tabatabai did in Al-Mizan. The present study uses a descriptive-analytic method, and aims at presenting relatively comprehensive definitions of Jari (esoteric meaning), Tatbiq (conformity), Batin (hidden) and Taawil (interpretation) by examining the exoteric and esoteric meaning of Hadiths and reflecting on the narration-based issues of Al-Mizan in order to recognize the Hadiths which refer to the instances of Jari and Batin in the Quran. This study shows that by Jari we mean showing the kinds of applicability the verse including the superior meaning, updated meaning and the like, which were unknown at the time of revelation, and by Batin we mean expressing the more developed meanings beyond the exoteric meaning of the words and phrases of Qura’nic verses as well the stratum of the meaning (more exact and hidden) of the Holy Quran. Through these definitions we can recognize the different types and of some of the Hadiths contained in narration-based and classify them commentaries according to their relations with other commentaries of the Quran.