Ẓāhir or zaher ( ar, ظاهر) is an

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

term in some

tafsir Tafsir ( ar, تفسير, tafsīr ) refers to exegesis, usually of the Quran. An author of a ''tafsir'' is a ' ( ar, مُفسّر; plural: ar, مفسّرون, mufassirūn). A Quranic ''tafsir'' attempts to provide elucidation, explanation, in ...

(interpretations of the

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...

) for what is external and manifest. Certain esoteric interpretations of Islam maintain that the Quran has an exoteric or apparent meaning, known as ''zahir'', but also an underlying

esoteric Western esotericism, also known as esotericism, esoterism, and sometimes the Western mystery tradition, is a term scholars use to categorise a wide range of loosely related ideas and movements that developed within Western society. These ideas ...

meaning, known as '' batin'' (baten), which can be interpreted only by a figure of esoteric knowledge. For Shi'a Muslims, the Imam of Time alone can understand the esoteric meaning. In Sufism, the actions of an individual are the ''zahir'', and the intention in the heart is the ''batin''. ''Zahir'' is the world of bodies whereas ''batin'' is the world of

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

s. Sufis believe in the purification of the ''batin'' by their spiritual guide to assure a ''zahir'' that follows

Shariat Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the H ...

. ''Zahir'' is also the underlying principle of the Ẓāhiriyya, a

school of thought A school of thought, or intellectual tradition, is the perspective of a group of people who share common characteristics of opinion or outlook of a philosophy, discipline, belief, social movement, economics, cultural movement, or art movement. ...

in Islamic jurisprudence and

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

that relies only on the manifest or apparent meaning of expressions in the Quran and the Sunnah. According to the "Epistle of the Right Path", a post-Mongol Persian-Ismaili treatise, the ''zahir'' (exoteric) form and the '' batin (''esoteric) essence co-exist, in that the ''zahir'' (exoteric) form is the manifestation of the ''batin'' (esoteric) essence. The ''zahir'' (outer form) without the ''batin'' (essence) is just like a mirage or an illusion. Many Ismaili Muslim thinkers have stressed the importance of the balance between the exoteric (''ẓāhir'') and the esoteric (''batin'') in the understanding of faith, and have explained that spiritual interpretation ( ''ta’wil'') entails elucidating the esoteric meaning (''bātin'') from the exoteric form (''ẓāhir'').

References

Islamic terminology Shia theology Ismaili theology Arabic words and phrases Quranic exegesis {{Islam-stub