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Fatwa CenterIllegal ways of interpreting Quran
Question
What does Tafseer Bil-Ishaara (interpretation of the Quran by giving a meaning that is contrary to the first and apparent meaning by using some hidden insinuations that appear to the Sufis)? My teacher asked me to discuss the at length.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. We ask Allaah to exalt his mention as well as that of his family and all his companions.
Al-Ishaari interpretation is interpreting the verses of the Quran contrary to their apparent meaning by the means of some hidden insinuations that appear to some Sufis, as some deviated groups claim. This is, of course, a misguided method of interpreting the Quran and it is not based on a correct scientific interpretation, rather it is based on a spiritual exercise as the misguided Sufis claim. The correct scientific interpretation is to interpret the verses of the Quran by referring to other verses of the Quran, or by the Sunnah, or by the sayings of companions 
who interpreted the Quran and sayings of interpreters, from our righteous predecessors
or by referring to the meaning of the word in the Arabic language.
Of course, the way the Sufis interpreted the Quran is nothing but playing and misusing the Book of Allaah. Indeed many deviated sects like Al-Baatiniyyah and others have treaded this path [of wrong interpretation of the Quran], as they interpreted the Quran contrary to what Allaah meant. For instance, some of them interpreted Bismillaahi Ar-Rahmaanee Ar-Raheem [what is said before reciting every chapter in the Quran] to mean the following: They interpreted the letter 'b' to mean the Glory of Allaah, and the letter 's' to mean the Exaltedness of Allaah, and the letter 'm' to mean the Honour of Allaah [note that the spelling of Bismi in Arabic has only three letters: b-s-m].
They also interpreted 'the neighbour who is near of kin' to mean the heart, and 'the neighbour who is a stranger' by nature, and 'the companion by your side' by mind that abides by the Islamic Law, and 'the wayfarer' by the limbs that obey Allaah, and so forth. These phrases are mentioned in verse 4: 36.
It is not reported that the companions and the righteous predecessors interpreted the Quran to mean the above [interpretation of the Sufis], or anything close to it. Had this interpretation been known to them, it would certainly have been reported from them as they were more aware of the meanings of the Quran, whether that meaning is apparent or not, according to the consensus of the scholars.
So this kind of Al-Ishaari interpretation is indeed a dispraised interpretation which is based on people's mere opinion.
Finally, we responded to the questioner in brief so that he would make an effort to do what his teacher asked him; however, we provided a brief survey about Al-Ishaari interpretation so that he would not drift in his study towards those who propagate this kind of interpretation.
Allaah Knows best.
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