The belief in the layers of meaning in interpretation of the Quran from the perspective of Allameh Tabatabai

The belief in the layers of meaning in interpretation of the Quran from the perspective of Allameh Tabatabai holds that each of the forms and lexical strings in Divine word that can be viewed independently can be considered authorized and valid for interpretation. In this way each meaning can be assigned assigned to a particular horizon and level of understanding. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the effects of such a belief on the interpretation of the two expressions of "Seven Samavati or Sab’a Samavat" and "Shahab or Meteor" in "Al-Mizan fi Tafsir al-Qur'an" by Allameh Tabatabai. From the viewpoint of Allameh Tabatabai, the term “Shahab” meaning meteor in the Holy Quran, has afigurative meaning which implies that demons are prohibited from entering heaven and will be prevented by Shahab. "Seven Samavati" in Allameh Tabatabai’s viewpoint is seen in this perspective toi refer to two kinds of skies: the material and the spiritual sky.