A further distinction concerns ẓāhir and bāṭin. Here the outward dimension is the established meaning expressed through the words. The inward dimension concerns their disciplined moral, intellectual, and spiritual apprehension—how a revealed truth is contemplated and allowed to shape the reader.
The passage mentions the wording “Every verse has an outward and an inward aspect” in a transmitted report; evaluating the report’s chain belongs to hadith criticism. The interpretive point is that a deeper benefit must remain connected to what the words establish.
Bāṭin here does not license overturning a plain, supported meaning to assert its opposite as secret doctrine.