page_title: Quran
section_title: Esoteric interpretation
hierarchical_section_title: Quran / Interpretation / Esoteric interpretation
caption_attribution_description: English: In Islam, Qira'at, which means literally the readings, terminologically means the method of recitation. Traditionally, there are 10 recognised schools of qira'at, and each one derives its name from a famous reader of Quran recitation. Photographer: Mostafa Meraji العربية: القراءة هي عند القراء أن يقرأ القرآن سواء كانت القراءة تلاوة بأن يقرأ متتابعا أو أداء بأن يأخذ من المشايخ ويقرأ. وقسّم القراء أحوال الإسناد إلى قراءة ورواية وطريق ووجه. فالخلاف إن كان لأحد الأئمة السبعة أو العشرة أو نحوهم واتفقت عليه الروايات والطرق عنه فهو قراءة، وإن كان للراوي عنه فهو رواية، وإن كان لمن بعده فنازلا فطريق أو لا على هذه الصفة مما هو راجع إلى تخيير القارئ فوجه. Deutsch: Die verschiedenen Lesarten des Korans sind Varianten des Korantextes, die sich hauptsächlich in Vokalisation Konsonantenverdopplung, Aussprache des Hamza, Buchstaben-Assimilation, Vokalfärbung und -länge, Nasalierung und Pausen unterscheiden. Vereinzelt gibt es aber auch Unterschiede bei den Konsonanten. Français&#160;: Les lectures du Coran, ou Qirâ'ât sont les méthodes de récitation du Coran. Traditionnellement, il existe 10 écoles de lecture du Coran, chacune portant le nom de son fondateur. Bahasa Indonesia: Qira'at al-Qur'an adalah ilmu Al-Qur'an yang membahas perbedaan lafaz wahyu, baik dari segi menulisnya maupun membacanya. Қазақша: Қыраат деп Құран оқу тәсілдерін айтады және оқу тәсілі (қыраат) және оқылу (харф) деген терминдердің арасында айырмашылық бар — қыраат деген бір-бірінен айырмашылығы аз Осман ибн Аффан жинаған Құран нұсқасының оқу тәсілі, ал «харф» дегеніміз әуелгіде түсірілген Құранның арабтардың жеті диалектіне негізделген оқылулар (бірақ бұл туралы басқа пікірлер де бар) Oʻzbekcha/ўзбекча: Qiroat — islom anʼanasida Qurʻon oyatlarini tajvid qoidalariga rioya qilgan holda, oʻziga xos ohangda oʻqish. Polski: Qira'at sposób prawidłowej recytacji Koranu. Русский: Кираат рецитация Корана в ритуальных целях. ไทย: กิรออะฮ์ หมายถึง เทคนิคการอ่านกุรอาน ส่วนความหมายตามตัวอักษร หมายถึง การอ่าน นักอักษรศาสตร์ให้ความหมายว่า เทคนิคการอ่าน กิรออาต เป็นรูปพหูพจน์ของคำว่า กิรออะฮ์ ซึ่งบ่งชี้ถึงประเภทการอ่านที่หลากหลาย เป้าหมายของ "การอ่านกุรอานอย่างถูกต้อง" คือการอธิบายคำต่าง ๆ ด้วยเทคนิคที่นบีมุฮัมมัด ศาสดาแห่งอิสลามเคยอ่าน หรือการอ่านที่เคยอ่านต่อหน้าท่าน และท่านก็รับรองการอ่านนั้น Türkçe: Kıraât (Arapça: قراءة Okuma, okuyuş), Kuran-ı Kerim'in serbest okunuşunu Kıraat-ı Aşere'ye göre içeren ve her defasında farklı okunan ve tonu ve içeriği de değiştiren bir yöntemdir. اردو: نماز میں دعائے استفتاح (ثناء)کے بعد رسول اللہ صلی اللہ علیہ و علی آلہ وسلم شیطان مردود سے اللہ تعالٰیٰ کی پناہ طلب فرماتے تھے۔ فارسی: قرائت دانش شیوه خواندن قرآن است. قرائت به صورت تحت‌الفظی به معنی خواندن‌ است، از نظر واژه‌شناسی به معنی شیوهٔ خوانش است. «قراءات»، جمع «قرائت» است و حاکی از گوناگونی انواع قرائت است. مقصود از «قرائت صحیح قرآن» بیان الفاظ آن به همان شیوه‌ای است که که محمد، پیامبر اسلام، خود تلفظ می‌کرد یا در حضور ایشان خوانده می‌شد و آن را تأیید می‌کرد. قرائت قرآن به روایت حفص از عاصم کوفی مشهورترین قرائت در میان عموم مسلمانان است.
context_page_description: The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is widely regarded as the finest work in classical Arabic literature. It is organized in 114 chapters
context_section_description: Esoteric or Sufi interpretation attempts to unveil the inner meanings of the Quran. Sufism moves beyond the apparent (zahir) point of the verses and instead relates Quranic verses to the inner or esoteric (batin) and metaphysical dimensions of consciousness and existence. According to Sands, esoteric interpretations are more suggestive than declarative, they are allusions (isharat) rather than explanations (tafsir). They indicate possibilities as much as they demonstrate the insights of each writer.
  Sufi interpretation, according to Annabel Keeler, also exemplifies the use of the theme of love, as for instance can be seen in Qushayri's interpretation of the Quran:
  when Moses came at the time we appointed, and his Lord spoke to him, he said, 'My Lord, show yourself to me! Let me see you!' He said, 'you shall not see me but look at that mountain, if it remains standing firm you will see me.' When his Lord revealed Himself to the mountain, He made it crumble. Moses fell down unconscious. When he recovered, he said, 'Glory be to you! I repent to you! I am the first to believe!'
  — Quran 7:143
  Moses, in 7:143, comes the way of those who are in love, he asks for a vision but his desire is denied, he is made to suffer by being commanded to look at other than the Beloved while the mountain is able to see God. The mountain crumbles and Moses faints at the sight of God's manifestation upon the mountain. In Qushayri's words, Moses came like thousands of men who traveled great distances, and there was nothing left to Moses of Moses. In that state of annihilation from himself, Moses was granted the unveiling of the realities. From the Sufi point of view, God is the always the beloved and the wayfarer's longing and suffering lead to realization of the truths.
  Muhammad Husayn Tabatabaei says that according to the popular explanation among the later exegetes, ta'wil indicates the particular meaning a verse is directed towards. The meaning of revelation (tanzil), as opposed to ta'wil, is clear in its accordance to the obvious meaning of the words as they were revealed. But this explanation has become so widespread that, at present, it has become the primary meaning of ta'wil, which originally meant "to return" or "the returning place". In Tabatabaei's view, what has been rightly called ta'wil, or hermeneutic interpretation of the Quran, is not concerned simply with the denotation of words. Rather, it is concerned with certain truths and realities that transcend the comprehension of the common run of men; yet it is from these truths and realities that the principles of doctrine and the practical injunctions of the Quran issue forth. Interpretation is not the meaning of the verse—rather it transpires through that meaning, in a special sort of transpiration. There is a spiritual reality—which is the main objective of ordaining a law, or the basic aim in describing a divine attribute—and then there is an actual significance that a Quranic story refers to.
  According to Shia beliefs, those who are firmly rooted in knowledge like Muhammad and the imams know the secrets of the Quran. According to Tabatabaei, the statement "none knows its interpretation except God" remains valid, without any opposing or qualifying clause. Therefore, so far as this verse is concerned, the knowledge of the Quran's interpretation is reserved for God. But Tabatabaei uses other verses and concludes that those who are purified by God know the interpretation of the Quran to a certain extent.
  According to Tabatabaei, there are acceptable and unacceptable esoteric interpretations. Acceptable ta'wil refers to the meaning of a verse beyond its literal meaning; rather the implicit meaning, which ultimately is known only to God and can't be comprehended directly through human thought alone. The verses in question here refer to the human qualities of coming, going, sitting, satisfaction, anger and sorrow, which are apparently attributed to God. Unacceptable ta'wil is where one "transfers" the apparent meaning of a verse to a different meaning by means of a proof; this method is
caption: Shia Muslim girls reciting the Quran during Ramadan in Qom, Iran
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