Types of Ta'wil

The questioner:
A questioner asks: What are the categories of ta'wil (figurative interpretation)? And does it include meanings? He says: What are the categories of ta'wil?

The Shaykh:
Ta'wil (figurative interpretation) has two categories: ta'wil in the sense of tafsir (exegesis), and ta'wil in the sense of knowing the ultimate outcome of things, where things end up and their nature in the future. This is known only by Allah. The ta'wil in the sense of tafsir is known by the scholars, but the ta'wil in the sense of the ultimate outcome of things and the reality of the unseen matters is known only by Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He; the scholars do not know it, nor does anyone else.

The questioner:
He asks: And does it include meanings?

The Shaykh:
Therefore, the point of pausing differs in His saying (Exalted and Majestic is He) . If the intended meaning is tafsir (exegesis), then the firmly grounded in knowledge know it, just as Allah knows it, and none knows its ta'wil (interpretation) except Allah and the firmly grounded in knowledge; that is, they know the tafsir, do they not? But if the intended meaning of ta'wil is what a thing leads to and the realities of the unseen, then none knows that except Allah, so the pause is on His saying . Yes.