Editing Quran (section)

== Interpretation ==
{{Main|Quranic hermeneutics|Muhkam and Mutashabih}}
''[[Tafsir]]'' ({{langx|ar|تفسير|tafsīr}} {{IPAc-ar|t|a|f|'|s|I|r}}; {{langx|en|explanation}}) refers to an [[exegesis]], or commentary, of the Quran. An author of a ''tafsir'' is a ''{{Transliteration|ar|ALA|mufassir}}'' ({{langx|ar|مُفسّر}}; plural: {{langx|ar|مفسّرون|mufassirūn}}). A Quranic ''tafsir'' attempts to provide elucidation, explanation, interpretation, context or commentary for clear understanding and conviction of [[God in Islam|God]]'s will in [[Islam]].<ref name="Jo" />

Principally, a ''tafsir'' deals with the issues of [[Classical Arabic|linguistics]], [[Islamic jurisprudence|jurisprudence]], and [[Islamic theology|theology]]. In terms of perspective and approach, ''tafsir'' can be broadly divided into two main categories, namely ''tafsir bi-al-ma'thur'' (lit. received tafsir), which is transmitted from the early days of Islam through the [[Islamic prophet]] [[Muhammad]] and his [[Sahaba|companion]]s, and ''tafsir bi-al-ra'y'' (lit. ''tafsir'' by opinion), which is arrived through personal reflection or [[ijtihad|independent rational thinking]].<ref name="Jo" />

There are different characteristics and traditions for each of the ''tafsirs'' representing respective [[Islamic schools and branches|schools and doctrine]]s, such as [[Sunni Islam]], [[Shia Islam]], and [[Sufism]]. There are also general distinctions between classic ''tafsirs'' compiled by authoritative figures of [[Ulama|Muslim scholar]]ship during the [[Golden Age of Islam|formative ages of Islam]], and modern ''tafsir'' which seeks to address a wider audience, including the common people.<ref name="Jo">Mir, Mustansir. (1995). "Tafsīr". In John L. Esposito. ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World''. Oxford: Oxford University Press.</ref>

=== Exoteric and Esoteric interpretations (''ta'wil'') ===
{{Main|Esoteric interpretation of the Quran|Quranic hermeneutics}}
[[File:cedararz.jpg|right|thumb|A cedar in Lebanon (Lebanon's sacred tree); Translations made through modern Arabic, unaware of the cultural background and etymological development of the words and symbols that make up the language, can turn Quranic [[Sidrat al-Muntaha]] into the [[Ziziphus spina-christi|Lote tree]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Farooqi |first1=M.I.H. |title=Cedar or Lote-Tree in the Light of al-Quran–A Scientific Study |url=https://www.irfi.org/articles4/articles_5001_6000/cedar_or_lotetree_in_the_light.html |website=IRFI |access-date=20 February 2025}}</ref>]]

Commentaries dealing with the ''[[Zahir (Islam)|zahir]]'' ('outward aspects') of the text are called {{Transliteration|ar|tafsir}}, (explanation) and hermeneutic and esoteric commentaries dealing with the ''[[Batin (Islam)|batin]]'' are called ''[[Esoteric interpretation of the Quran|ta'wil]]'' ('interpretation'). Commentators with an esoteric slant believe that the ultimate meaning of the Quran is known only to God.<ref name="Britannica" /> Esoteric or [[sufism|Sufi]] interpretation relates Quranic verses to the inner or esoteric (''[[Batin (Islam)|batin]]'') and metaphysical dimensions of existence and consciousness.<ref name=alangodlas>{{cite encyclopedia|last=Godlas|first=Alan|article=No tile given <!--editor: please find--> |encyclopedia=The Blackwell companion to the Qur'an|year=2008|publisher=Wiley-Blackwell|isbn=978-1-4051-8820-3|pages=350–362|edition=Paperback}}</ref> According to Sands, esoteric interpretations are more suggestive than declarative, and are [[allusion]]s ({{Transliteration|ar|isharat}}) rather than explanations (''[[tafsir]]''). They indicate possibilities as much as they demonstrate the insights of writers.<ref name=kristin>{{cite book|last=Sands|first=Kristin Zahra|title=Sufi commentaries on the Qur'an in classical Islam|year=2006|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-36685-4|edition=1. publ., transferred to digital print.}}</ref>

Shias and Sunnis as well as some [[Islamic philosophy|Muslim philosophers]] believe the meaning of the Quran is not restricted to the literal aspect.<ref name="corbin1993">{{harvnb|Corbin|1993}}</ref>{{rp|7}} In contrast, [[Bi-la kaifa|Quranic literalism]], followed by [[Salafis]] and [[Zahiri]]s, is the belief that the Quran should only be taken at its apparent meaning.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Quraishi |first=Asifa |date=2007 |title=Interpreting the Qur'an and the Constitution: Similarities in the Use of Text, Tradition, and Reason in Islamic and American Jurisprudence |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.963142 |journal=SSRN Electronic Journal |doi=10.2139/ssrn.963142 |s2cid=143088125 |issn=1556-5068}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Nakissa |first=Aria |date=20 May 2019 |title=The Anthropology of Islamic Law: Education, Ethics, and Legal Interpretation at Egypt's Al-Azhar |url=https://academic.oup.com/book/35028 |access-date=29 December 2023 |website=Oxford Academic |page=258 |doi=10.1093/oso/9780190932886.001.0001|isbn=978-0-19-093288-6 }}</ref> [[Henry Corbin]] narrates a [[hadith]] that goes back to [[Muhammad]]:

<blockquote>The Quran possesses an external appearance and a hidden depth, an exoteric meaning and an esoteric meaning. This esoteric meaning in turn conceals an esoteric meaning. So it goes on for seven esoteric meanings.<ref name="corbin1993"/>{{rp|7}}</blockquote>

According to esoteric interpreters, the inner meaning of the Quran does not eradicate or invalidate its outward meaning. Rather, it is like the soul, which gives life to the body.<ref>{{Cite web|first=Allamah |last=Tabataba'I |author-link=Muhammad Husayn Tabatabai |url=https://almizan.org/new/special/Aspects.asp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080705110108/http://www.almizan.org/new/special/Aspects.asp|title=The Outward and Inward Aspects of the Qur'an |website=Tafseer Al-Mizan <!-– Allamah Muhammad Hussein Tabatabai -->|archive-date=5 July 2008|access-date=16 February 2021}}</ref> Corbin considers the Quran to play a part in [[Islamic philosophy]], because [[Gnosiology]] itself goes hand in hand with [[prophet#Islam|prophetology]].<ref name="corbin1993"/>{{rp|13}}

==== Notable Sufi commentaries ====
One of the notable authors of esoteric interpretation prior to the 12th century is [[al-Sulami]]'s (d. 1021) book named {{Transliteration|ar|Haqaiq al-Tafsir}} ('Truths of Exegesis') is a compilation of commentaries of earlier Sufis. From the 11th century onwards several other works appear, including commentaries by Qushayri (d. 1074), [[Abd al-Malik al-Daylami|Al-Daylami]] (d. 1193), [[Abu Mohammad Shirazi|Al-Shirazi]] (d. 1209) and [[Shihab al-Din 'Umar al-Suhrawardi|Al-Suhrawardi]] (d. 1234). These works include material from Sulami's books plus the author's contributions. Many works are written in Persian such as the works of [[Qadi Husayn Maybudi|Al-Maybudi]] (d. 1135) {{Transliteration|ar|kashf al-asrar}} ('the unveiling of the secrets').<ref name=alangodlas /> [[Rumi]] (d. 1273) wrote a vast amount of mystical poetry in his book ''[[Masnavi|Mathnawi]]'' which some consider a kind of Sufi interpretation of the Quran.<ref name=jmojaddedi>{{cite encyclopedia|last=Mojaddedi|first=Jawid|article=No title given <!--editor: please find tile--> |encyclopedia=The Blackwell companion to the Qur'an |year=2008 |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |isbn=978-1-4051-8820-3 |pages=363–373 |edition=Paperback}}</ref> Simnani (d. 1336) tried reconciliation of [[Incarnation|God's manifestation through and in the physical world notions]] with the sentiments of Sunni Islam.<ref name=jelias>{{cite journal|last=Elias|first=Jamal|title=Sufi ''tafsir'' Reconsidered: Exploring the Development of a Genre|journal=Journal of Qur'anic Studies|year=2010|volume=12|issue=1–2|pages=41–55|doi=10.3366/jqs.2010.0104}}</ref> Ismail Hakki Bursevi's (d. 1725) work {{Transliteration|ar|ruh al-Bayan}} ('the Spirit of Elucidation') is a voluminous exegesis written in Arabic, combines the author's own ideas with those of his predecessors (notably Ibn Arabi and [[Al-Ghazali|Ghazali]]).<ref name=jelias />