The word ‘tafsir’ is derived from the verb ‘fassara’, meaning ‘to explain, to expound, to elucidate, to interpret.’ The word tafsir as the verbal noun then means ‘the explanation or interpretation of something.’
The word ‘ta’wil is derived from the verb ‘awl’, which means ‘to return, to revert’, thereby returning to the original meaning of a word to understand its connotations.
There are five opinions amongst scholars regarding the difference between the two terms:
The most common usage is the first one.
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