Siraj-ul-Absar (English) - Khalifatullah Mehdi (AHS)

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preference with a predominant opinion. Mawwal is derived from aal or yaul. And aal
is used for the person who returns. When you return something and turn it around,
you say awlatahu. It means: I have returned and turned it around. Thus when you
reflect upon the usage of a word, and you turn it towards a certain meaning, then
truly you are doing tavil towards that meaning of the word. And this opinion, in the
end, is the possible result. Allah has said:
“Do they wait to see the [tavil] results (of evil activity) on the day when the [tavil]
results of what they were warned against will manifest themselves?” 44
In other words, they see only its tavil or its consequences.
And the meaning of mufassar [made clear] is that the purport of the statement that
has come from the mutakallim [person who makes the statement] is so clear from the
words themselves, that there is no scope for tavil [interpretation] or takhsis
[specialization]. That is why it is called mufassar [made clear] because it is open,
without a doubt and visible. And this word is derived from the Arabic expression
asfar-us-subh [unveiling of the morning]. When the morning becomes bright and
there is no element of doubt in it, then the Arabs call it asfar-us-subh. And this is a
derivative from asfarat al-maratu ‘an wajhiha. This is said when a woman removes the
veil from her face. Hence, this word is a transposition of the word tafsir [exegesis].
And this is the meaning of the saying of the Prophet SLM that, ‘the person who does
the tafsir on the basis of his own opinion should search his place in hell.’ In other
words, if a person does ijtihad [legal reasoning] and on the basis of his own opinion
and interpretation issues the command that this is the real purport of Allah Most
High, then the above threat is held open for him.
Hence, the difference between tafsir and tavil, which we have mentioned earlier, is
discussed in the books of Usul [principles], like Manar and others. Our brothers [that
is, the Mahdavis] do not do the tafsir in this manner. Hence we do not fall under the
injunction that ‘he who did the tafsir of the Quran on the basis of his own opinion
should search his place in the hell’.
Bayan of Mahdi AS
Now turning to Mahdi Al-Mau'ood AS ’s bayan: it is not as per his opinion and
interpretation for it to have the likelihood of being right or wrong, because the rank
of Mahdiat [the station of being the Mahdi AS ] is above ijtihad. This is by virtue of the
saying of the Prophet SLM in favour of Mahdi AS , that ‘he [Mahdi AS ] would follow in my
footsteps and will not err’. And further, on the basis of the saying of the Prophet SLM
that he [Mahdi AS ] will establish the religion in the Last Era as he [the Prophet SLM ] had
established it in the First Era. We will present all the remaining arguments shortly.
It is impossible for a person to establish the religion in the Last Era in the same way
as the Prophet SLM had established it in the First Era without posessing the mushahida-
44 Quran, S. 7:53 SAL.