Session: 5 December 1958 / 23 Jamadi al-Awwal — Friday

۵ دسمبر ۱۹۵۸ء — جمعہ

Interpretation and Deriving Meanings (تاویل اور معنی نکالنا)

Ta'wil (interpretation, especially the bringing out of the inner meaning of a text) is a legitimate and necessary discipline in Islamic scholarship. However, it must be grounded in the correct method — without sound linguistic and juristic grounding, interpretation becomes mere rationalization of one's desires. The great scholars set strict conditions for permissible ta'wil.

Certainty: Of the Words or the Meaning? (یقین، الفاظ یا معنی کا؟)

يَقُولُونَ آمَنَّا بِهِ

'They say: we believe in it' (Al-Imran 3:7). True belief (iman) is certainty of the meanings conveyed by the divine words, not merely familiarity with the words themselves. One who memorises the Qur'an without understanding its meanings has an incomplete relationship with the text. The goal is that the heart becomes certain of the realities the words point to.