Ta'wīl (hermeneutical interpretation), as a process aimed at moving beyond the apparent meaning (dēlālat al-ẓāhir) of the sacred text towards deeper meanings, has been a central source of tension and intellectual evolution throughout the history of Islamic theological thought. This study, employing an analytical-comparative approach, argues that the stance adopted by various theological schools (Ẓāhirīs, Mu'tazila, Imāmiyya, and Ash'arīs) concerning Ta'wīl directly reflects the epistemological relationship between the two sources of knowledge: 'Aql (Reason) and Naql (Scriptural Transmission) within each school. The findings demonstrate that the Ẓāhirīs (Literalists), by granting absolute priority to the "literal meaning of the text" (ẓāhir al-naṣṣ), deem any form of Ta'wīl as innovation (bid'a). Conversely, the Mu'tazila, by establishing the supremacy of 'Aql, consider Ta'wīl a logical necessity for the Tanzīh (transcendence) of the Divine Essence and the resolution of apparent textual contradictions. Meanwhile, the Imāmiyya (Twelver Shī'a) employ Ta'wīl within a methodical framework based on a two-way interaction between "Reason and Infallible Transmission," viewing it as a specialized matter requiring recourse to the "Deeply Rooted in Knowledge" (rāsikhūn fī al-'ilm). The Ash'arī school, emerging initially with a literalist tendency against the Mu'tazila, underwent a significant historical transformation, gradually moving from a position of Tafwīḍ (delegation of meaning) towards rational Ta'wīl. This article ultimately concludes that the conflict over Ta'wīl is, in its essence, the manifestation of the fundamental and dynamic tension between the two authoritative sources of knowledge—Revelation and Reason—in the history of Islamic theological reflection.