"Indeed, for the Quran there is an exoteric (zahir) and an esoteric (batin), according to the saying of the Exalted: {And no one knows its interpretation (ta’wil) except Allah} (Al ‘Imran 7)—here is the stop (al-waqf). Then he resumed and said: {And those firmly rooted in knowledge say: 'We believe in it; all [of it] is from our Lord'} (Al ‘Imran 7). 'Those firmly rooted' (al-rasikhun) is in the nominative case by way of commencement (isti’naf), not by conjunction with 'Allah'; He named them 'firmly rooted' due to their submission.

And [similarly] the saying of the Exalted narrating about the Jews: {And for their saying, "Indeed, we have killed the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, the messenger of Allah." And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them} (An-Nisa 157). We have not seen anything except that it has an exoteric and an esoteric, because every body (jism) has an exterior and an interior."