Appearance
Verses 101–102
The two verses clearly have no connection with the preceding ones, and their meaning does not require any relation with any previous talk for clarification of any of their part. Therefore, there is no need for the over-exertion and the mental gymnastic which many exegetes have indulged into to discover the verses’ connection with the theme preceding ones, or with the beginning of the chapter, or with its; so it is better to ignore it altogether.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ لاَ تَسْأَلُواْ عَنْ أَشْيَاء إِن تُبْدَ لَكُمْ تَسُؤْكُمْ وَإِن تَسْأَلُواْ عَنْهَا حِينَ يُنَزَّلُ الْقُرْآنُ تُبْدَ لَكُمْ عَفَا اللَّهُ عَنْهَا وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ حَلِيمٌ ١٠١ قَدْ سَأَلَهَا قَوْمٌ مِّن قَبْلِكُمْ ثُمَّ أَصْبَحُواْ بِهَا كَافِرِينَ ١٠٢
(5:101–102) O you who believe! Do not put questions about things which if declared to you may trouble you, and if you question about them while the Qur’an is being revealed, they shall be declared to you; Allah has pardoned of this, and Allah is Forgiving, Forbearing. A people before you indeed asked such questions, and then became disbelievers in them.
al-Ibdā’ (to declare, to disclose); sā’ahu is opposite of sarrahu (it pleased him).
The verse forbids the believers to put questions about such things, which may pain and displease them if disclosed. It has left it vague who was the person asked from. But the sentence: “if you question about them while the Qur’an is being revealed,” as well as the next verse: A people before you indeed asked such questions, then became disbelievers on account of them, clearly show that it is the Prophet who is intended here—that the believers should not put such questions to him which would result in such and such. However, the underlying reason of this prohibition conveys the idea that it covers also other situations; that it forbids man to enquire about, and search, the things God has left vague and put a veil on them which cannot be removed by normal means and usual ways. Obviously, there is a strong chance of misery and perdition if one were to acquire somehow the knowledge of such realities as, for example, the date when he would die, the cause of his death, the lifespan of his near and dear ones, the fall of his kingdom and honor; probably the very knowledge might cause his perdition or misery.
The system of life has been streamlined by God and implemented by Him in the world. He has disclosed some things and put veil on the others. He has not made open what He has but for an underlying reason; and has not hidden what He has but for an underlying reason. Therefore, to cause hiding of what is apparent or to disclose what is hidden would disrupt the system, which covers the universe. It is not unlike the human life based on the body system which is made up of various powers, organs and limbs—if one of it is removed from, or added to it, a major function of life would be lost, and may be at times the life itself—or its meaning—will be ruined.
The second factor, which the verse has left vague, is the nature of the things about which they are forbidden to ask. It only describes them as being such that they may pain or trouble you if they are disclosed. There is no doubt that the words: “which if declared to you may trouble you,” are the attribute of the preceding word: “things.” It is a conditional sentence that shows that if the condition takes place, its concomitant is bound to take place. As those things were of such a nature that if disclosed they would certainly trouble them; therefore, putting questions about them and seeking to unearth their hidden affairs was tantamount to asking to be troubled and pained.
Objection: A sane person does not seek that which would give him pain or put him in trouble. Therefore, it would have been better if the prohibition was rephrased, for example: do not put question about things that contain factors which if disclosed to you may trouble you. Or, do not put questions about things which you are not sure would not trouble you if disclosed to you.
Someone has replied to it in a really strange way. He has said: “It is established in the Arabic grammar that the particle, in (if) describes a condition which is not certain to take place, to appear; and the concomitant follows the condition in coming into existence or not coming; as Qur’an has used in, and not idhā (if, when) (which gives a shade of certainty), it proves that mere possibility of its disclosure being troublesome, is sufficient to forbid putting questions about it.”
Comment: He has clearly erred in this reply. Would that I knew which rule of the Arabic grammar has said that a condition followed by in was not sure to take place; and that consequently its concomitant too was not certain to come into being. What does it mean when we say: ‘If (in) you come to me I’ll bestow honor upon you?’ Doesn’t it mean that if you came you’ll certainly be bestowed honor upon? Therefore, his view that, mere possibility of its disclosure being troublesome is sufficient to forbid putting questions about it, could hold water only if the verse had forbidden asking about things which could possibly trouble them if disclosed. But as you already know the fact is different; it forbids putting question about things, which were definitely going to trouble them if disclosed. So the objection remains unanswered.
Another Reply: Similar in weakness is another view, based on some traditions, that the: “things which if declared to you may trouble you,” points to those unseen things which some people appear eager to know, like dates of deaths, final result of many affairs, flow of the good and the bad, and avidity to unearth the hidden destiny, which by nature is not free from what gives pain to man; for example, when a man asks how many years have remained in his life, how will he die, what will be his end result, who was his father and so on; and such questions were usually asked in the Era of Ignorance. Therefore, the verse forbids them to put questions about such things; because usually such disclosures may expose informations which may afflict man with pain and grief; for example, that his death is nearer, or that his end is disastrous, or that his real father is someone other than the one he is affiliated to. These are the things which usually throw man in trouble and sorrow; and there was a possibility that if questions about them were put to the Prophet, he would answer them with what would not please the questioner, and arrogance and pride might push him to refute the words of the Prophet and become a disbeliever, as the next verse points to it: A people before you indeed asked such questions, and then became disbelievers on account of them.
Comment: Although this interpretation seems perfect at the first glance, yet it does not agree with the divine words: and if you question about them while the Qur’an is being revealed, they shall be declared to you—whether we say that this verse permits such questions at the time of the revelation of Qur’an, or that it emphatically forbids it at that time by pointing to the fact that at other times the replier, that is, the Prophet has the option of not replying to such questions, keeping in view the wellbeing of the questioners; but such things are in fact unveiled before his eyes, their reality is known to him from the beginning; therefore you should not ask about them while the Qur’an is being revealed.
As for its disagreement with the first meaning, it is because the questions about such things, by their nature, entail scandals; therefore, there is no sense in saying that such questioning is allowed while the Qur’an is being revealed, as the scandal will remain even then.
As for its being unfit with the second meaning, it is accepted that the time of the revelation of Qur’an was the time of disclosure and unveiling for those things which needed to be disclosed and unveiled; yet this especially was reserved to realities of cognition and the laws of do’s and don’ts, and related affairs. However, fixing the age of Zayd, disclosing how ʿAmr will die, identifying who was that man’s father and things like that have no connection at all with the Qur’anic descriptions. In this backdrop, there appears no reason why the prohibition of putting questions about such things should be followed by the clause: “and if you question about them while the Qur’an is being revealed, they shall be declared to you.”
Therefore, the more appropriate reply is the one inferred from some other persons’ talk that: The next verse: A people before you indeed asked such questions, and then became disbelievers on account of them, as well as the clause: “and if you question about them while the Qur’an is being revealed, they shall be declared to you,” show that the things questioned about were connected with the laid down laws; the verses discourage and forbid the believers to seek minute details regarding those laws, because too much interrogation and too deep delving in questions would certainly lead to harder details and put the questioners in greater troubles, as God has described in the story of the cow of the Israelites. The more they indulged in enquiry, asking for more and more particulars of the cow which they were told to slaughter the more God went on tightening the conditions and narrowing their choices.
The clause: “God has pardoned of this,” is apparently an independent sentence, put here to explain the reason of the prohibition: “do not put question about things which if declared to you may trouble you.”
Some exegetes have said: The clause: “God has pardoned of this,” is the attribute of “things”; and the speech has to be rearranged as follows: do not put questions about things, which God has pardoned, which if declared to you may trouble you.
Comment: This interpretation is not correct; the verb: ‘afā (pardoned) has taken the preposition: ‘an, and it is the best proof that the things pardoned are those which are related to sharīʾah and laws; had they been from among the creative affairs, it was almost certain to be described as, God has pardoned this.
In any case, the reasoning in terms of pardoning, indicates that the word: “things” refers to the particulars of the laws and sharīʾah, and the conditions pertaining to them; and makes it clear that if the Qur’an is silent about them, it is not because God was unmindful of them or had neglected them; it is but a concession from God to His servant which He has bestowed on them to make their lives easier; as He says (at the end of the verse): “And God is Forgiving, Forbearing.” When they put questions asking for an order’s particulars, they make themselves liable to more hardship, to further tightening—and it is bound to afflict them with pain and grief as in this way they reject the divine pardon which was offered to them to make life easy to them, and to affirm the divine attributes of forgiveness and forbearance.
The theme of the verse may be expressed in our words as follows: ‘O you who believe! Do not ask the Prophet about the things regarding which the sharīʾah is silent, God has pardoned them and has not spoken about them in order to make your life easy and free from burden; because they are such that if you ask about them while the Qur’an is being revealed, they shall be declared to you, and they will put you in trouble and pain if they are disclosed to you.’
The above discourse has made it clear that:
The divine words: “and if you question about them while the Qur’an is being revealed, they shall be declared to you,” are the ending part of the prohibition, as has been explained; they are not intended to erase the prohibition of questioning at the time when the Qur’an is being revealed, as some people have thought.
The clause: “God has pardoned of it,” is an independent sentence, put here to give the reason of the prohibition of the questioning; it thus gives the benefit of adjective, although grammatically it is not an adjective.
The speech ends with the clause: “and God is Forgiving, Forbearing,” although the speech contains prohibition which does not agree with the attributes of forgiveness and forbearance. Therefore these two attributes are related to the pardon mentioned in the clause: “God has pardoned of it,” and not to the prohibition contained in the verse.
A people before you indeed asked such questions, and they became disbelievers on account of them: It is said that sa’alahu and sa’ala ‘anhu have the same meaning: He asked about him; thumma (then) indicates delay in terms of speaking, not in terms of time; bihā (in them) is connected with, disbelievers, as the verse apparently shows; it is intended to forbid putting questions concerning the conditions of laws and orders which were left vague at the time of legislation. Thus, the disbelief here indicates disbelief in the laws as it entails diffidence of soul and straitness of hearts against their acceptance.
There is also a possibility that bi in it may be used to show the cause; then the meaning will be: on account of it; but this is a farfetched idea.
Although the verse has not named the people who had turned disbelievers, yet there are some episodes mentioned in the Qur’an to which the verse may be applied, like that of the table (among the Christians’ stories) and several others related to the ummah of Moses and others.
Examining Narrations
- (al-Suyūṭī) quotes Ibn Jarīr, Abu al-Shaykh and Ibn Marduwayh who have narrated from Abū Hurayrah that he said, “The Messenger of God, delivered a sermon before us, and said, ‘O people! God has prescribed ḥajj for you.’ ‘Ukāshah b. Muḥṣin stood up and said, ‘Every year? O Messenger of God!’ (The Prophet) said, ‘As for it, if I had said, “Yes,” it would have become obligatory; and if it had become obligatory and then you were to leave it, you would have gone astray. Remain silent before me when I am silent before you, as those who were before you had perished only because of their questioning and their discord against their prophets.’ Then God revealed: O you who believe! Do not put questions about things which if declared to you may trouble you ...” (al-Durr al-manthūr)
Author’s comment: This story has been narrated by several narrators from Abū Hurayrah and Abū Amāmah, etc.; and it has been narrated in Majmaʾ al-bayān and other Shī’ite books. It fits on the explanation that we have written earlier.
- (al-Suyūṭī) quotes Ibn Jarīr and Ibn Abī Ḥātim who have narrated from al-Suddī about the word of God: O you who believe! Do not put questions about things which if declared to you …, that he said, “The Messenger of God, became angry one day, and stood up to address the people; and he said, ‘Ask me, for you will not ask me about anything but I shall inform you about it.’ So there stood up a Qurayshite man from Banū Sahm, ʿAbdullāh b. Ḥadhāqah by name—and people used to vilify him—and said, ‘O Messenger of God! Who is my father?’ He said, ‘Your father is so-and-so (and he asserted his relationship to his father).’ ʿUmar betook himself to him, kissed his foot and said, ‘O Messenger of God! We are pleased with God as the Lord, and with you as the Prophet, and with the Qur’an as the leader; so pardon us, may God pardon you!’ So he continued beseeching him until his anger subsided. It was on that day that he said, ‘The child belongs to the bed and for the adulterer is the stone.’ And it was (then) revealed to him: And people before you indeed asked such questions, (and then became disbelievers on account of them).” (ibid.)
Author’s comment: This tradition is narrated through several chains with variations in their wordings. However you have seen earlier that it does not fit on the verse.
- (al-Suyūṭī) quotes Ibn Jarīr, Ibn al-Mundhhir and al-Ḥākim (who said that it is correct), who narrated from Tha’labah al-Khashnī that he said, “Then the Messenger of God, said, ‘Verily God has laid down (some) limits, so do not transgress them; and has prescribed for you (some) obligations, so do not neglect them; and has made (some) things unlawful, so do not commit them; and has left (some) things, not because of forgetfulness, but as a mercy from Himself for you, so accept them and do not delve in them.’” (ibid.)
- ʿAlī said, “Verily God has enjoined upon you some duties, so do not neglect them; and laid down for you some limits, so do not transgress them; and has forbidden you some things, so do not commit them; and has passed over some things, and has not left them because of forgetfulness, so do not force yourself concerning them.” (Majmaʾ al-bayān; Tafsīr al-Ṣāfī)
- (al-Kulaynī) narrates through his chains from Abu al-Jārūd that he said, “Abū Jaʾfar, said, ‘When I tell you anything, you should ask me for its authority from the Book of God.’ Thereafter he said in one of his talks, ‘Verily the Messenger of God had forbidden idle talk, squandering of wealth and excessive questioning.’ It was said to him, ‘O Son of the Messenger of God! Where is it from the Book of God?’ He said, ‘Verily God, the Mighty, the Great, says: There is no good in most of their secret talks except (in his) who enjoins charity or goodness or reconciliation between people (); and He has said: And do not give away your property which Allah has made for you a (means of) support to the weak of understanding (); and He has said: do not put questions about things which if declared to you may trouble you.’” () (al-Kāfī) (al-ʿAyyāshī) narrates from Aḥmad b. Muḥammad that he said: “I wrote to Abu al-Ḥasan al-Riḍā, (he wrote its reply) at the end of which he wrote: ‘Have not you (people) been forbidden to ask too many questions? Yet you refuse to desist! Beware of it, for those who were before you had perished only because of abundance of their questions. So God, the Blessed, the Sublime, said: O you who believe! Do not put questions about things which if declared to you may trouble you, A people before you indeed asked such questions, and then became disbelievers in them.’” (al-Tafsīr)