بExamination of the Aḥādīth concerning “Rāsikhūna fī al-‘Ilm” in terms of Chain of Transmission and Evidentiary Proof

Document Type : پژوهشی

Authors

• Mahdī Akbarnizhād
• Rūḥullāh Muḥammadī

10.22067/naqhs.v43i2.14531

Abstract

Among the issues that have since long time ago been controversial and a subject of debate is the question, “Who knows the esoteric interpretation (ta’wīl) of the Qur’ān?” Thus, two viewpoints have appeared among the scholars of the Qur’ānic studies, both referring
to the verse 7 of Sūrat Āl-i ‘Imrān as to whether rāsikhūn (those firmly grounded in knowledge) refers to Allah or not; and whether or not the rāsikhūn know the esoteric interpretation of the Qur’ān. Although by rational judgment and according to various scriptural evidences, the rāsikhūn’s knowledge of the esoteric interpretation of the Qur’ān is obvious, what is subject to debate here is who the rāsikhūn are in this verse. Since our only sources in this respect are the traditions related from the Infallible Imams (A.S.), we have examined and analyzed these traditions in the present writing and checked the validity of these traditions in terms of their chain of transmission (sanad) and evidentiary proof (dilāla). As per the fact that the traditions sound in sanad and explicit in diāla also testify to it, the Prophet (S.A.W.) and the Ahl al-Bayt (A.S.) are regarded to be the only ones knowledgeable in the science of ta’wīl and the real rāsikhūn in the knowledge of the Qur’ān.

Keywords

• conceptology of rāsikhūn
• esoteric interpretation
• those firmly grounded in knowledge
• rusūkh (firmness) and rāsikh (firmly rooted)
• knowledge of the unseen

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