ثُمَّ إِنَّ عَلَينا بَيانَهُ
Then, its exposition indeed [also] lies with Us.
EXEGESIS
Bayān (exposition) is from the root of bāna, meaning to appear clearly and distinctly after ambiguity and generality, through separation and distinction. From this comes bayān, meaning to explain and clarify. It means that the onus is upon God to clarify the meaning of the Quran.
EXPOSITION
God now presents the third task He has pledged to perform for the Quran. He has already described His role in collecting the Quran and ensuring its proper recitation; now, He states that the responsibility to explain its meaning also belongs to Him.
This should intend that the Quran will be explained to the Prophet. After that, through the teachings of the Prophet, the meaning of Quranic verses is made clear to the believers: We have sent down the reminder to you so that you may clarify for the people that which has been sent down to them, so that they may reflect (16:44). Note also the employment of the term Then (thumma) which indicates that the exposition (bayān) will follow its revelation and recitation. The exposition that will be done by the Prophet following its recitation should hence be included in the meaning of this verse as well.
It is through his practice they learn how they must pray or enact the other commandments of the Quran. It is he who explains to them details about life after death, the Day of Judgement, heaven and hell, angels and jinn, Imams, previous prophets, and so on. God reveals the interpretation of the Quran and ensures that the Prophet will have the opportunity to convey those interpretations in his teachings.
This does not mean every one of the Prophet’s followers learned the full meaning of every Quranic verse through his explanations. In fact, it is well-documented that this was not the case (see the commentary on 80:27-30). Levels of understanding differed and some companions were more knowledgeable than others, and they would regularly ask each other for insights. Certain individuals, such as Ibn Abbas, made it their life’s work to collect these explanations from all the companions. Most significantly, Imam Ali (a) received exclusive, private teaching from the Prophet, who instructed him in both the apparent and hidden meanings of the Quran, and in every other matter of religion.
This is because Imam Ali (a) was tasked with continuing the duty of teaching the correct meaning of the Quran after the Prophet had passed away, as, for example, highlighted in the hadith in which the Prophet tells Imam Ali (a) that he will ‘fight people regarding the taʾwīl (true meaning) of the Quran, just like he himself had fought people for its tanzīl (revelation)’.
Ṭabrisī has argued that this verse is evidence that there are no riddles or puzzles in the Quran. Aside from the disjointed letters (ḥurūf muqaṭṭaʿah) in the beginning of some surahs, this is true, the Quran was sent down as guidance to mankind, with manifest proofs (bayyināt) of guidance and the criterion (2:185). Since the Quran is guidance for mankind, its verses should be understandable and clear for them. This does not mean that everyone can understand all of the Quran without any study or research, but rather that with sufficient effort, capability, and purity of intention, this is possible.
Moreover, it does not rule out the Quran having layers of meaning or that its verses should not permit taʾwīl for those firmly grounded in knowledge (3:7). However, such knowledge should never be taken to mean that the apparent meaning of the Quran is false and can be rejected in favour of a ‘secret’ meaning. In fact, the reports from the Ahl al-Bayt themselves place the Quran – and ipso facto, our knowledge of it – as a criterion for determining true reports from false ones. This is also the explicit purport of many verses, such as 2:185 quoted earlier, which deem the Quran to be the criterion for judging truth from falsehood. If the Quran was not understandable to us, or its meanings esoteric and hidden, it would not be able to fulfil such a function.
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
This verse has also been interpreted to mean that God alone is responsible for explaining the Quran’s rulings, or that He revealed it in Arabic to make it clear to people. However, neither of these interpretations is fully convincing.
According to Abū Ḥayyān, the intent of this verse is that the Prophet demonstrated haste not merely in memorising the Quranic revelation, but also in grasping the meaning of its verses, a trait analogous to the eagerness seen in other earnest students of knowledge.
However, there is nothing in this verse per se to indicate that there was any sort of over-eagerness on the Prophet’s part in this regard. Rather, it seems to simply explain the third of the three important duties that God has taken upon Himself with regards to the Quran.
[1] Tahqiq, 1/366, b-y-n.
[2] Tibyan, 7/404; Baghawi, 3/379.
[3] Tibyan, 10/197.
[4] See for example Kafi, 1/62.
[5] See for example Ayyashi, 1/15; Wasail, 27/204, h. 33606; Manaqib, 2/244; Ahmad, 3/31, 82; Mustadrak.S, 3/123; Haythami, 6/244, 9/133; Nasai.K, 5/154, h. 8541. For a hadith that does not have the aforementioned wording but that gives a bit more context to this, see Tirmidhi, 5/297-298, h. 3799 (3715).
[6] Tabrisi, 10/601.
[7] This opinion is attributed to Ibn Abbas (Tabari, 29/119); Ahkam, 4/1896; Qurtubi, 19/106.
[8] This opinion is attributed to Zajjāj (Tabrisi, 10/601).
[9] Muhit, 10/349.