It is said that if you want to talk to God, then you should pray, but if you want God to talk to you then you should read the Quran. As Muslims we believe that the Quran is the verbatim speech of God. With that being the case, it only makes sense that if we want a message from God, that one should turn to the Quran. If the Quran is God’s speech then how should we interpret what He is saying? The Quran is of a miraculous nature and there are a seemingly endless amount of divine qualities about it. One of the must significant of these is that it is simple enough so that anybody can pick it up and understand its basic message, yet complex enough so that one can spend their entire life studying it and still not know it all. That is the nature of the divine, it cannot be limited in any way, shape, or form. If God is infinite then all of His Qualities must be infinite as well, including his speech, the Quran.ⁱ That is why one can study the Quran their whole life and never understand it all.ⁱⁱ The Quran is like an infinitely deep ocean, we can only understand it at certain depths, past which point it is beyond our comprehension.

What Are These Levels of Understanding?

1. Literal

This is the surface level of the meaning of the text and it is also the level that everybody is familiar with. At this level we take the text at its face value. In reality it is not just that simple. This level also offers a deeper interpretation than just the surface value. At this level we also interpret it in light of (to name only a few examples):

Grammar

Literary Features

Historical/Social/Cultural context

There is some confusion surrounding this level of interpretation. Some believe that a literal interpretation is a relatively new invention, a reactionary movement against the overly emphasized empiricalism of the Enlightenment and the Scientific revolution, encouraged by Islamic reform movements, such as the Wahhabies. This is simply not true. The literal approach has always existed, but this is the origin of the literal only approach.

2. Allegorical/Metaphorical/Symbolical/Lower Allegory

At this level we interpret the speech of God in a nonliteral way. God says something and it is taken figuratively. This can add double meanings to a text. For example water is seen as a sign of God’s mercy, and is taken as such symbolically. When we turn to Surah Yusuf we see the following verse:

"Some travellers came by. They sent someone to draw water and he let down his bucket. ‘Good news!’ he exclaimed. ‘Here is a boy!’" (Quran 12:19, Haleem Translation)

The travellers went for water and found God’s mercy, not only water, but a prophet as well! Because they found Joseph, they found God’s mercy as he would go on to teach the message of Islam and save the region from famine, although they did not recognize him as such at the time. More often than not, interpretations at this level are more spiritual. At this level there are several types of techniques used, some of which include:

Allegory: a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral, spiritual, or political one.

Typological: A prophetic foreshadowing of the stories and lives of later people and prophets, by stories and lives of the people and prophets who came before them.

Anagoge: prophetic foreshadowing dealing with the future events of religious history, heaven, hell, the day judgement, etc.

Numerology: Connecting words and concepts together, based on the numerical value of their letters.

Some critics of this form of interpretation attack it as being modern and a recent idea, however the Quran it self admits that it contains metaphors,

"He it is who has bestowed upon thee from on high this divine writ, containing messages that are clear in and by themselves – and these are the essence of the divine writ – as well as others that are allegorical. Now those whose hearts are given to swerving from the truth go after that part of the divine writ which has been expressed in allegory, seeking out [what is bound to create] confusion, and seeking [to arrive at] its final meaning [in an arbitrary manner]; but none save God knows its final meaning. Hence, those who are deeply rooted in knowledge say: "We believe in it; the whole [of the divine writ] is from our Sustainer – albeit none takes this to heart save those who are endowed with insight." (Quran 3:7, Asad Translation)ⁱⁱⁱ

3. Comparative/Drash

On this level we do exegesis by comparing the Quran with some other text. Either we interpret the Quran through a text or we allow another text to fill in information to help us interpret the Quran. The most famous method and one of the earliest of this level of Quranic exegesis, is interpreting the Quran through the Quran. It has been said that when the Quran speaks briefly on a subject in one area, the Quran explains it in more detail in another place.^iv Some of the methods at this level include:

Quran by the Quran

Quran by the Hadith

Quran by the Bible and related texts

Quran by Ancient Near/Middle Eastern documents

4. Ethical/Doctrinal

This arguably the most important level as it is at this level we learn how to apply the text to our daily lives and beliefs. The sole aim of this level is to answer two questions, "How can we apply what this verse or passage is saying to our daily lives?" and "Based on this verse or passage, what should we believe?". This level is directly dependent on the other levels of interpretation. For ethics and edification we can derive from all of the other levels of interpretation. Based on the verse Quran 3:7 I quoted above, I do not believe we can base doctrine, that is right belief, on anything but the literal level and the comparative level^v, but Allah knows best. The principals used at this level for deriving legal injunctions are numerous and both very logical and technical. Just to give one example,

Principal: A law that operates under certain conditions will surely be operative in other situations where the same conditions are present in a more acute form.

"Good and evil cannot be equal. [Prophet] Repel evil with what is better and your enemy will become as close as an old and valued friend." (Quran 41:34, Haleem translation)

According to this verse we are told to return evil with good. In applying the above principle to this

verse I conclude that if we are commanded to return evil deeds with Good deeds, then we are

commanded even more so to return good deeds with good deeds.

5. Mystical/Philosophical/Tawil/High Allegory

This is the deepest objective level of interpretation, perceivable by man. There are two opposite, sometimes opposing schools that use this level, that of the mystics and that of the philosophers. The methods that are used on this level are the same as those that are used on level two, but are not organic^vi. How these interpretations are derived, tend to only be passed along between teacher and student. Being that I do not know how the interpretations at this level are reached, I can only give an example of an allegory being used at this level, and not explain the workings behind the scenes.

He said, Truly, when kings enter a village, they destroy it and debase the exalted among its inhabitants. This is the way they behave (Quran 27:34).

What is meant by that is that it is the custom of kings, when they descend upon a village, to enslave its people and make them submissive to them, so that they can do nothing without the command of the king. Likewise, when gnosis (ma2rifa) enters the heart (qalb), nothing remains in it that it does not uproot, and nothing moves in it that it does not burn^vii

6. Personal

Unlike the other levels of understanding the Quran, this one is not objective, but subjective. We all approach the Quran with our own preconceived ideas, notions, thoughts, and experiences; because of this we all understand the Quran uniquely, even if only slightly different then everyone else. Have you ever read the Quran and felt like it was speaking to you and your current situation? That is the function of this level. Some believe that this is esogesis, and it possibly could be, but it also could be of a more mystical origin.^viii

Everything passed this point is not perceivable by ordinary people. There is a level that is only perceivable by the friends of God,^ix a level understandable only by the prophets, and finally levels known only to God.

This Is Nothing New

To End this post I would like to share a series of quotes from many remarkable individuals and theologians from different streams of the Islamic tradition, about there being multiple levels of interpretation. Though they may not all agree as to how many levels there are and what these levels are exactly, they all agree there is more than one plane of exegesis of the Quran. This is nothing new, quite the contrary, it has an extensive history going back at least to the first Muslims.

"Every verse of the Qur’an has four levels of meaning: the obvious verbal meaning, the indication or analogy, the subtle meaning, and the deepest reality."

-Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq

"The Quran came down showing five aspects, what is permissible, what is prohibited, what is firmly fixed, what is obscure, and parables. So treat what is permissible as permissible and what is prohibited as prohibited, act upon what is firmly fixed, believe in what is obscure, and take a lesson from the parables"

-Baghawi, Mishkat al-Masabih 1.6.2

Fuzayl ibnYasar said: I asked Imam Baqir about the verse "if any one saved a life,

it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people."(Quran 5:32),

He answered: It means "if any one saved whomsoever from burning or drowning,

he has saved the whole humanity".

I asked: Does not the verse include whoever saves the other person from going

astray and guide him to the right way?

He said: "this is indeed its higher ta’wil".

-al-Kafi fi al-usul vol.2, p.210

"The tafsir of the Quran is divided into four divisions: (i) that which all can understand. (ii) that which the Arab can understand. (iii) that which only the learned men can understand. (iv) that which no one knows except God".

-Ibn ‘Abbas, Ibn Kathir, Tafsir al-Quran al-‘azim.

"In truth, the Qur’an possesses an inner and outer, and its inner possesses another inner up to seven inners".

-Jami-u al-asrar, pg 530

"No verse is in the Quran but it possesses outer and inner, and no letter (harf) is in the Quran but it possesses the limited meaning (hadd) and the highest meaning (matla‘ )."

-Majlisi, Bihar al-anwar, (al-Wafaa, Beirut, 1983), vol.33, p.155.

"The reason why there is an inner and an outer meaning in the revelation is to be sought in the fact that the natural talents of people are different and that their abilities in regard to the affirmative function (of reason) deviate from one another"

-Ibn Rushd (Averroes), The Qur’an and its Exegesis, p. 232

"It should be noted that whenever someone maintains that the Quran has no meaning other than that expressed by external method of exegesis, then in doing so he is expressing his own limitations."

-Al-Ghazali, Revival of the Religious Sciences 1.268

"Know that the outward form passes away, but the world of Meaning remains forever.

How long will you make love with the shape of the jug? Leave aside the jug’s shape: Go seek water!

Having seen the form, you are unaware of the meaning. If you are wise, pick out the pearl from the shell."

-Rumi, The Masnavi

"Form also has tremendous importance. No, much more than importance, for it participates in the kernel. Just as nothing can be done without the kernel, so also nothing can be done without the shell…But the root is meaning."

Rumi, Fihi ma fihi, p. 19

"The Qur’an is a two-sided brocade. Although some benefit from one side of it and some from the other, they are both right because God wants both groups to derive benefit. It is like a woman who has a husband and also a nursing infant: each derives a different pleasure from her, the infant from the milk in her breasts and the husband from being mated to her. "People who take external pleasure from the Qur’an and "drink its milk" are "infants of the way," but those who have attained perfection have a different enjoyment and understanding of the meaning of the Qur’an."

-Rumi, Fihi ma fihi, p. 165.

"Know that the Qur’an’s words have an outside and under the outside there is an inside, exceedingly powerful. And beneath that inside a third inside, in which all intellects become lost. The fourth inside of the Qur’an none has perceived at all, expect God the peerless, the incomparable."

-Rumi, Masnavi 4244-4247

"Fortunately the Quran has itself made this task easy, for it contains a number of verses which declare that Allah speaks to man in allegory and parable. Thus the Quran leaves the door open for all kinds of interpretations without any one interpreter being able to accuse another of being non-Muslim. A felicitous effect of this fundamental principle of Islam, that the Quran is constantly open to allegorical interpretation, has been that our Holy Book has been able to guide and illuminate the thought of believers, century after century, in accordance with the conditions and limitations of intellectual apperception imposed by external influences in the worlds. It leads also to a greater charity among Muslims, for since there can be no cut-and-dried interpretation all schools of thought can unite in the prayer that the Almighty in His infinite mercy may forgive any mistaken interpretation of the faith whose cause is ignorance or misunderstanding"

-Agha Khan III, Memoirs, 173

Then, know that the realities we hinted at have secrets and jewels; [but also] they have seashells, and the shell is that which appears first. Some people who reach the seashells know [only] these, while others break the shells and carefully examine the pearls [inside them]."

-Al-Ghazali

Near to the science of reading is the science of the outward exegesis of the Qur’an. This is the inner surface of the shell of the Qur’an, which is next to the pearl. This is the reason why its resemblance with the pearl has become strong so that some people imagine that it is the pearl [itself] and that beyond it there is nothing more valuable than it. It is with it that most people are content. How great are their deception and deprivation, for- they have imagined that there is no rank beyond theirs! However, in relation to those who possess the knowledge of [other] sciences of the shell, they are at a rank high and noble, since the science of exegesis is mighty when compared to other sciences of the shell, because it is not meant for them while they are meant for it.

-Al-Ghazali

"The Qur’ān is divided among branches: outwards and inwards, its miracles do not elapse and its ends are never reached. Anybody who penetrates deeply into the Qur’ān kindly will save, but who penetrates deeply into it violently will tumble. The Qur’ān contains news and metaphors, the lawful and the prohibition, the abrogative and the abrogated, the clear and the unclear, the outward and the inward. Its outward is the recitation, whereas its inward is the exegesis. Thus, the intellectuals keep it, while the fools (sufah’) leave it out (jānibū bihi)…"

-Ibn Abbas(MH Dhahabi, TM ii, 197).

"the Qur’ān was revealed on four letters (ahruf): the lawful and the prohibition (alEalāl wa al-Earām) that should be clear for everyone, the interpretation of an Arab, that of scholars (‘ulamā’), and the unclear verse (mutashābih) which is only God knows its interpretation"

– Ibn Abbas (Tustarī, Tafsīr, 24).

"Know that the Qur’an has an exoteric sense for the exoterists as well as an esoteric sense for the esoterists. The exegesis of the esoterists can only be appreciated by esoterists: only they can grasp the esoteric meaning and only them can appreciate its taste."

-Ibn ‘Ajība

"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 (seven depths of hidden depth)."

-Muhammad

"The book of God comprises four things: the statement set down, the allusions, the hidden meanings relating to the suprasensible world, and the exalted spiritual doctrines. The literal statement is for the ordinary believers. The allusions are the concern of the elite. The hidden meanings pertain to the friends of God. The exalted spiritual doctrines are the province of the prophets."

-Imam, Jafar Sadiq

"The tafsīr belongs to the Companions, the ta’wīl to the scholars (fuqahā’), because the companions saw the events and knew the circumstances of the revelation of the Qur’ān"

-al-Māturīdī, Māturīdī, Ta’wīlāt, 5

"He who recites the Qur’ān and does not know the ta’wīl of it is an ummī" (lit. "illiterate," but perhaps also a "pagan")

-Muqātil, Tafsīr, i, 26-7

"The Book of God has four things: literal expression (‘ibāra), allusion (ishāra), subtleties (laṭā’if), and deepest realities (ḥaqā’iq). The literal expression is for the common folk (‘awāmm), the allusion is for the elite (khawāṣṣ), the subtleties are for the friends of God (awliyā’), and the deepest realities are for the prophets (anbiyā’)."

-Ja’far alSadiq, From Spiritual Gems: The Mystical Qur’an Commentary ascribed

to Ja’far alSadiq as contained in Sulami’s Haqa’iq alTafsir ((Louisville: Fons Vitae,

2011), trans. Farhana Mayer, p. 1