A Comparative Analysis of the Epistemological Foundations of Ta'wil (Allegorical Interpretation) in the 'Narrative Trend' (Focusing on Ayyashi) and the 'Theological Trend' (Focusing on Shaykh al-Mufid)

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

Assistant Professor, Department of Quran and Hadith, Al-Mustafa International University, Qom, Iran.

Abstract

Ta’wil of the Holy Qur’an, understood as the hermeneutical movement from the zahir to the batin (the exoteric to the esoteric meaning), has long been shaped by a fundamental methodological divergence within Imami Shi‘a thought. This study employs an analytical-comparative approach and focuses on the formative period of the third and fourth centuries AH to examine the epistemological foundations of the two principal Imami hermeneutical trends: the narrative Ta’wil trend, centered on Muhammad b. Mas‘ud al-‘Ayyashi, and the theological Ta’wil trend, represented by Shaykh al-Mufid. The central question is how these two trends, despite sharing the authority of the wilayah of the Ahl al-Bayt, developed distinct and, at times, conflicting approaches to Ta’wil. The article argues that the narrative trend, with its strictly text-centered orientation, regarded Ta’wil as a divinely authorized process confined to unveiling the batin through transmitted reports, thereby excluding independent reason from this domain. By contrast, the theological trend, responding to the intellectual challenges of its historical context and adopting a defensive hermeneutic orientation, employed reason as an essential instrument for transcendence, purification, and the resolution of apparent scriptural contradictions. In this view, Ta’wil becomes a rational-methodological activity governed by both scriptural and rational principles. The findings show that this divergence stems from differing conceptions of the purpose of Ta’wil and of the relationship between reason and tradition in interpreting ambiguous verses. The study contributes to hermeneutics, Qur’anic exegesis, and Imami theology by explaining this methodological duality.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

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Biannual Journal of research in the interpretation of Quran
Volume 12, Issue 24
August 2025
Pages 247-275

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History

  • Receive Date: 08 November 2025
  • Revise Date: 21 February 2026
  • Accept Date: 25 July 2026

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