not be regarded as an interpretation through ones personal opinion (tafslr bil-ra y). The Imam al-Sadiq alluded to this when he said: "The [interpretations of the] am‌ biguous verses have led some people to their doom because they did not understand their meanings, nor did they know the truth about them. Thus, they invented inter‌ pretations for them that were based on their personal opinions, and regarded them‌ selves as not in need of inquiring about them from the legatees [of_the Prophet] who
would have apprised them." It is possible that tafslr bil-ra y means formulating in‌ dependent legal opinions without referring to the Imams (peace be upon them), in spite of their being affiliated with the Book of God in the obligation concerning the
adherence [to the two things of high estimation (al-thaqalayn)] and the necessity of
ultimately referring the text to them [for an exclusive verdict]. If a person acts upon the general or the absolute injunctions of the Quran, and does not accept the par‌ ticularizations or restrictions reported on the authority of the Imams, then this is re‌ garded as an interpretation on the basis of ones own personal judgment (tafslr bil‌
ra y). In short, explaining a text according to its literal sense, after careful evaluation
of the connected and separate contexts in the Book and the Sunna (prophetic tradi‌
tion), or on the basis of a rational argument, is not considered interpretation on the basis of ones personal opinion, nor even plain interpretation as explained earlier. However, the abovementioned traditions indicate the need to tum to the Book and to act upon its directives. It is evident that the intention in referring people to the Quran is that they should submit to its literal meanings. As such, interpretation on the basis of ones own personal judgment must mean something other than acting in accor‌ dance with the literal meanings of the various textual and contextual evidence pro‌ vided by the Quran, the Sunna, and reasoning.

٣. The obscurities in the meanings of the Quran.In the Quran there are lofty mean‌ ings and obscure objectives. As such, these are obstacles to the understanding of its meanings, and to the comprehension of what it intends to convey. We find that the works of some early Muslim scholars are not understood except by well-informed scholars. How, then, can one understand the meanings of the Quran, which com‌ prises the entire knowledge about the matters pertaining to the beginning and the end of the World?
The response [to this is as follows]. Although the Quran includes all the knowl‌ edge about the beginning and the end of existence, and although the knowledge about this aspect of the Quran is undoubtedly restricted to the ahl al-bayt of the Prophet, this does not nullify the fact that the Quran has an apparent sense that can be under‌ stood by anyone who is well versed in the Arabic language and its style of expres‌ sion, and who could thus perform his devotions in accordance with the apparent meanings of the Quran, after scrutinizing the context.

٤. The knowledge that the intention is different from the apparent meanings. We know, in general, that the general injunctions of the Quran have been particular‌ ized, and that the absolute ones have been restricted. We also know that some of the meanings of the Quran are definitely not intended in their apparent sense. However, it is not known which of the general injunctions are particularized in their applica‌ tion, and which of the absolute ones are restricted, and which of the apparent mean ings are not necessarily intended as they appear; hence, it is not possible to be bound