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...and that is forbidden because it exposes one to the risk of destruction. For such a person does not have the strength to preserve himself in the depths of the sea, even if he might be able to stay safe near the shore. If he were commanded to stand on the right side of the shore, he would not obey; and if he were commanded to remain still amidst the crashing of waves and the approach of crocodiles—their mouths already agape to swallow him—his heart and body would tremble. He would be unable to follow his own will due to his lack of capacity.

This is the true analogy for the scholar when a layman al-ammi: one who lacks specialized training in the deep spiritual sciences opens the door to figurative interpretations ta’wilat: moving beyond the literal meaning of a text and acts contrary to the outward meanings of the scripture. In the category of "laymen," we must include the man of letters, the grammarian, the narrator of prophetic traditions original: "al-muhaddith", the Quranic exegete, the jurist, and the theologian. Indeed, every scholar is a layman except for those solitary few who have learned to swim in the seas of gnosis ma'rifah: experiential knowledge of God.

These are the ones who plunge into its depths, turning their faces away from the world and its desires, shunning wealth, status, people, and all other pleasures. They are sincere toward God Almighty in both their knowledge and their actions, upholding all the boundaries and etiquettes of Divine Law original: "al-shari'ah". They perform acts of obedience, abandon forbidden things, and have emptied their hearts entirely of everything other than God, for the sake of God. They look down upon this world—indeed, even the hereafter and the Highest Paradise—when compared to the love of God.

These are the people of "diving" into the sea of gnosis. Yet, despite all this, they remain in great danger; nine out of ten perish, unless one of them is blessed with the "hidden pearl" and the "stored secret." These are the ones for whom the best reward has been decreed by Us; they are the successful. And your Lord knows best what their hearts conceal and what they declare.

The Third Position: The Gnostic’s Interpretation Within Himself

This concerns the interpretation a gnostic al-arif: one who possesses direct spiritual insight makes within the secret of his own heart, between him and his Lord. This takes three forms regarding what occurs in his heart concerning the meaning of terms like "Establishment" original: "al-istiwa'"; refers to God "sitting" or "establishing" Himself on the Throne and "Aboveness" original: "al-fawq". This meaning is either:
1. Something he is certain of.
2. Something he doubts.
3. Something he considers most likely true.

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If the interpretation is certain, he should believe it. If it is doubted, he must avoid it and not pass judgment on the intent of God or His Messenger based on a mere possibility that is contradicted by an equal possibility. Rather, the duty of the doubter is to pause original: "al-tawaqquf"; a technical term for suspending judgment in theology.

If the interpretation is based on a strong probability, he must know that this probability concerns two things. First: Is the meaning that occurred to him possible and permissible in regards to God, or is it impossible? Second: He might know with certainty that the meaning is permissible, but he wavers on whether it is actually what was intended by the word.

An example is the interpretation of the word "Above" original: "al-fawq" as a "spiritual or metaphorical highness." This is the meaning intended when we say, "The Sultan is above the Minister." We do not doubt that this type of "highness" is attributed to God. However, we might hesitate: In the verse "They fear their Lord from above them" Quran 16:50, was this spiritual highness intended, or was some other meaning intended that suits the Majesty of God, excluding physical height? Physical height is impossible for that which is not a body and cannot be described as a body.

A second example is the interpretation of the word "Establishment on the Throne" original: "al-istiwa’ ‘ala al-‘arsh" as meaning a "special relationship" to the Throne. This relationship implies that God is the director of the entire universe, managing all affairs from the heavens to the earth by means of the Throne. In this view, no form is created in the world unless it is first created in the Throne.

This is like a painter or a scribe who cannot produce a wise image or writing upon a white surface unless he first conceives it in his brain. Indeed, the image of a building or a vessel is not created until its image is first formed in the brain. By means of the brain, the heart directs the affairs of its "world," which is the body.

A scholar might hesitate after affirming this relationship of the Throne to God: Is this permissible? Is it something that exists in itself, or is it a way of saying that God has established His custom and habit through it? It is not impossible for the reality to be otherwise, just as God's custom regarding the human heart is that its governance is only completed by means of the brain—even though it is within God's power to enable the heart without the brain, had His eternal will and ancient wisdom so decreed.