The Relationship of a Homonymous Word with the Esoteric Meaning of the Quran

One of the discussions brought up in the principles of jurisprudence (Usul-e Fiqh) is the use of a homonymous word, a word that has more than one meaning. It has been a matter of contention and discrepancy among the scholars of Ilm al-Usul whether or not it is permissible to use a word in more than one meaning. The main area around which discussions have been taking place is the Quran because one of the dimensions of the Quran is its inward meaning. Historically speaking, it was Raghib Isfahani (d. 425 A.H.) who first established a link between the esoteric meanings of the Quran and the use of the words in more than one meaning. However, this relationship and link has remained hidden to the scholars and experts in the field of the principles of jurisprudence. In the Shiite’s Usul-e Fiqh, it was about two hundred years ago when, in the time of Akhund, the author of Kifayah, the discussion concerning the relationship between the esoteric meanings of the Quran and the use of a word in more than one meaning was brought forth. Akhund himself viewed that the esoteric meanings were alien to the use of a word in more than one meaning. In the present article, after giving a brief account on the history of this topic, various opinions have been put forth and elaborated on the relationship between the inward meanings of the Quran and the use of a word in more than one meaning and it has been proved that a word with more than one meaning includes and encompasses the esoteric meanings also.