Taʾwīl is interpreted in five senses:
1. With the phrase taʾwīlihī (its taʾwīl), what is meant is the period of sovereignty of Muhammad and his community, or the end of their sovereignty; as in the following verse:
Seeking discord and seeking its taʾwīl {that is, seeking the end of the sovereignty of Muhammad and his community}... (Āl ʿImrān 3:7)
That is: The Jews, by means of jumal calculation, wanted to know how long Muhammad and his community would rule, when this sovereignty would end, and when sovereignty would return to the Jews. Thereupon, the Exalted Allah said:
But no one knows its taʾwīl except Allah {that is, no one knows the taʾwīl of the sovereignty of Muhammad and his community [when their sovereignty will end] except Allah. No one but Allah knows that they will remain sovereign until the Day of Resurrection and that this sovereignty will not return to the Jews} (Āl ʿImrān 3:7)
2. Taʾwīluhu (its taʾwīl); means the outcome/end of what Allah has promised in the Qur'an to occur on the Day of Resurrection, whether good or evil; as in the following verses:
Are they {that is, the disbelievers of Mecca} waiting for anything except its taʾwīl {that is, its outcome; of what Allah has promised through His Messenger in the Qur'an, of good and evil}? The Day its taʾwīl comes {that is, the Day of Resurrection, when the outcome of the good and evil promised by Allah in the Qur'an will come}... (al-Aʿrāf 7:53)
No, they have denied what they could not encompass in knowledge and whose taʾwīl {that is, the outcome of the threats Allah has promised in the Qur'an to occur in the Hereafter} has not yet come to them. (Yūnus 10:39)
3. By taʾwīl, dream interpretation is meant; as in the following verses:
Your Lord will choose you and teach you the taʾwīl of events (that is, the interpretation of dreams). (Yūsuf 12:6)
And We taught him the taʾwīl of events {that is, the interpretation of (dreams)}. (Yūsuf 12:21)
You have taught me of the taʾwīl of events {that is, the interpretation of dreams}. (Yūsuf 12:101)
4. Taʾwīl means realization [coming to pass, occurrence, fulfillment]; as in the following verse:
O my father, this is the taʾwīl of my dream {that is, its realization; its coming to pass / occurrence}. (Yūsuf 12:100)
5. The phrase taʾwīluhu (its taʾwīl) is used in the sense of its kind/type; as in the following verse:
No food will come to you with which you are provided but I will inform you of its taʾwīl {that is, the type/kind of the food that will come} before it comes to you. (Yūsuf 12:37)