al-Tawil Khuturatuhu wa Atharuhu
- Author died
- 1433 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Nafā’is lil-Nashr wal-Tawzī‘
Al-Ta'wil: Khuturatuhu wa-Atharuhu (Figurative Interpretation: Its Danger and Repercussions) is a theological treatise on Islamic creed by Umar Sulayman al-Ashqar (d. 1433 AH / 2012 CE), examining the nature of figurative interpretation (ta'wil) and arguing against its application to the scriptural texts concerning the divine names and attributes.
Background and Purpose
Al-Ashqar originally began researching the issue of figurative interpretation while preparing a broader study on the names and attributes of God according to the creed of Ahl al-Sunnah wa-l-Jama'ah. As his examination of ta'wil and its historical repercussions expanded, he chose to separate the topic into a dedicated, concise monograph written during his tenure at the Faculty of Sharia at the University of Jordan in Amman.
Although the author notes that esoteric and heterodox groups applied figurative interpretation to legal obligations, prohibitions, and eschatological descriptions of the grave, resurrection, Paradise, and Hellfire, he restricted the treatise to the reinterpretation of the divine names and attributes, observing that this specific form had found traction among educated thinkers and scholars of the Muslim community. The work was published in Amman by Dar al-Nafa'is in 1412 AH / 1992 CE.
Contents and Methodology
Al-Ashqar frames blameworthy ta'wil not as genuine linguistic interpretation, but as textual distortion (tahrif). The treatise explores several key linguistic, theological, and legal principles:
- Linguistic and Scriptural Definitions: The author demonstrates that the root meaning of ta'wil in classical Arabic revolves around "returning" (al-ruju'), and that in the Quran and Sunnah it designates either the actual realization and outcome to which speech refers (haqiqat ma ya'ulu ilayhi al-kalam) or direct explanation and commentary (tafsir). He argues that defining ta'wil as diverting an expression from its apparent meaning to a less probable one is a late technical convention of legal theorists (usuliyyun) not found in early Arabic dictionaries like Tahdhib al-Lughah by al-Azhari or Maqayis al-Lughah by Ibn Faris.
- Praiseworthy and Blameworthy Interpretation: Seeking the unknowable reality of the divine essence or the unseen realms is identified as blameworthy, whereas understanding the plain meanings of the divine names and attributes according to Arabic usage is praiseworthy. The author analyzes Surah Al 'Imran ( وَمَا يَعْلَمُ تَأْوِيلَهُ إِلَّا اللَّهُ ) to distinguish between general and specific clarity (muhkam) and ambiguity (mutashabih), drawing extensively on the writings of Ibn Taymiyyah.
- Legal Conditions of Ta'wil: Al-Ashqar contends that practitioners of theological ta'wil fail to meet the standards set by jurists and legal theorists, which require that the metaphorical meaning be attested in Arabic, supported by a definitive indicator, free of conflicting proof, and clarified by the Lawgiver.
- Textual and Rational Critiques: The book applies these principles to debated texts, such as the attribute of the divine Hands (al-Yadayn), and addresses hadith reports cited by theologians—including the narration regarding the Black Stone, the hadith describing hearts between the fingers of the Merciful, and the sacred hadith عبدي جعت فلم تطعمني ("My servant, I was hungry and you fed Me not")—arguing that their intended meanings are clear from their context without requiring metaphorical diversion. He also cites al-Izz ibn Abd al-Salam on how habit and sectarian loyalty distort rational inquiry.
- Historical Dangers: Citing Ibn al-Qayyim and Ibn Rushd, the author concludes by outlining the destructive effects of ta'wil, linking it to sectarian fragmentation, early civil conflicts among Muslims, and the weakening of scriptural certainty.
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