Exegesis (Tafsir) According to the Holy Ahl al-Bayt (A.S.)

When we examine the method employed by Imam al-Reza (A.S.) and the other Imams from the Ahl al-Bayt (A.S.) in interpreting the text of the Holy Qur'an, we find out that it depends on the general overall meaning in interpreting one particular verse, distancing itself from interpretations which do not suit its own general or particular meaning. This does not mean that the Holy Qur'an can be interpreted by anyone according to what he understands of its apparent meaning; rather, its interpretation is not limited to the verbatim understanding of the text. Instead, some matters have to also be taken into consideration which may be hidden in a way which requires seeking assistance from those whom God endowed with the faculty of knowledge and understanding, namely the Prophet (S.A.W.) and his Ahl al-Bayt (A.S.) who are the actual testimony to the verse which says: "Nobody knows its interpretation except God and those deeply grounded in knowledge."
One who studies tafsir according to the Ahl al-Bayt (A.S.) will clearly notice the phenomenon that they may interpret some verses on their own, while others may be a reference to obeying and loving them. Some people try to use this phenomenon to make notorious remarks, to deliberately distort, and openly condemn the Imams of the Ahl al-Bayt (A.S.), trying to attribute to them their attempt to make the Holy Qur'an a book regarding their own sect and nobody else's. There is nothing further from the truth. The interpretation provided by the Ahl al-Bayt (A.S.) of certain verses to be a direct or indirect reference to them is due to one's perfect practical implementation of tafsir, and the fact that they themselves are living witnesses to the truth in such verses, or that should such verses make a reference to them, they are all proofs of the truth contained in the Holy Qur'an and it does not take the verse out of its intended general meaning. For example, when Imam al-Sadiq (A.S.) interprets the ummah (nation) in the text of the Holy Qur'an to mean the a'immah (Imams), he gives it the meaning that they are the most distinguished practical manifestation of its Qur'anic meaning. To use the word "interpretation" in such context may imply a metaphoric meaning of the word, for what is intended by it is to provide the best possible practical meaning which agrees with the spirit of the text, which is something neither reason nor citation object to it.