Surah An-Nahl (16) — Ayah 44

(Ayah44) ➊ {بِالْبَيِّنٰتِ وَ الزُّبُرِ : ’’ الزُّبُرِ ‘‘ ’’ اَلزَّبُوْرُ‘‘} is the plural of {’’مَزْبُوْرٌ‘‘}, meaning {’’ بِالْبَيِّنٰتِ وَ الزُّبُرِ ‘‘}, that is, something written. This jar majroor can be related to either of the two verbs in the previous verse, either to {’’ وَ مَاۤ اَرْسَلْنَا مِنْ قَبْلِكَ اِلَّا رِجَالًا ‘‘} in relation to {’’ اَرْسَلْنَا ‘‘}, meaning: We did not send before you except men with clear proofs and books, or to {’’ فَسْـَٔلُوْۤا اَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ ‘‘ } in relation to {’’فَسْـَٔلُوْۤا ‘‘}, meaning: If you do not know, then ask the people of remembrance with clear proofs and books. (Tantawi)
➋ For the explanation of {وَ اَنْزَلْنَاۤ اِلَيْكَ الذِّكْرَ … : ’’ الذِّكْرَ ‘‘}, see the footnotes of verse (9) of this Surah Al-Hijr.
➌ In this verse, two wisdoms of revealing {’’ الذِّكْرَ ‘‘ }, that is, divine revelation, to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) have been mentioned: one is that if people face any difficulty in understanding its meaning, you may clarify it for them, and even show them its practical example by acting upon it yourself, because without your clarification and example, it is not possible to understand the matters stated in divine revelation, for example, prayer, fasting, zakah, and other rulings. Apart from the Noble Qur’an, every statement, action, and condition of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is divine revelation and its clarification. He said: «{ لَقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِيْ رَسُوْلِ اللّٰهِ اُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ }» [ الأحزاب : ۲۱ ] “Indeed, there is for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent example.” Miqdam bin Ma’dikarib (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: [ اَلَا، إِنِّيْ أُوْتِيْتُ الْكِتَابَ وَمِثْلَهُ مَعَهُ، أَلَا يُوْشِكُ رَجُلٌ شَبْعَانُ عَلٰی أَرِيْكَتِهِ يَقُوْلُ عَلَيْكُمْ بِهٰذَا الْقُرْآنِ فَمَا وَجَدْتُمْ فِيْهِ مِنْ حَلَالٍ فَأَحِلُّوْهُ وَمَا وَجَدْتُمْ فِيْهِ مِنْ حَرَامٍ فَحَرِّمُوْهُ أَلاَ وَ إِنَّ مَا حَرَّمَ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مِثْلُ مَا حَرَّمَ اللّٰهُ، أَلاَ، لَا يَحِلُّ لَكُمْ الْحِمَارُ الْأَهْلِيُّ وَلَا كُلُّ ذِيْ نَابٍ مِنَ السَّبُعِ وَلَا لُقَطَةُ مُعَاهِدٍ إِلاَّ أَنْ يَسْتَغْنِيَ عَنْهَا صَاحِبُهَا ] [ أبوداوٗد، السنۃ، باب فی لزوم السنۃ : ۴۶۰۴۔ ابن ماجہ : ۱۲، و صححہ الألباني ] “Listen! I have been given the Book and something like it along with it. Beware! Soon a man with a full belly, reclining on his luxurious couch, will say: ‘Hold fast to this Qur’an; whatever you find in it as halal, consider it halal, and whatever you find in it as haram, consider it haram.’ Listen! Whatever the Messenger of Allah has declared haram is just as if Allah has declared it haram. Listen! The meat of the domestic donkey is not halal for you, nor any predator with fangs, nor anything dropped by a dhimmi (disbeliever), unless its owner no longer needs it.” The second wisdom is {’’ وَ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَفَكَّرُوْنَ ‘‘}, and so that people may ponder over divine revelation and take admonition from it.

The exegesis of this verse has been done along with the previous verse.

44. (We sent those messengers) with clear proofs and scriptures. And We have revealed to you this Reminder [44.1] (the Qur’an) so that you may clearly explain to the people what has been sent down to them [45], so that they may reflect.

[44۔1]
Who are the People of Dhikr:

In this verse, Allah Almighty has not used the word "Quran" but rather the word "Dhikr," and in the previous verse as well, He has not used the term "People of the Book" but rather "People of Dhikr," which clearly shows that "Dhikr" and "Book" or "Quran" are two separate things. For clarification of this difference, see the footnote number 5 of Surah Al-Hijr. In brief, "Dhikr" includes, in addition to the Book of Allah, that insight which is granted by Allah Almighty to the Prophets in relation to the explanation of the Book. In this sense, "People of Dhikr" refers to experts in religious sciences, and "Dhikr" refers to all revelation sent down by Allah, meaning that besides the Book of Allah, the Sunnah of the Messenger is also included in the meaning of "Dhikr." And people are being guided that if they do not know any religious matter, they should ask an expert in religious sciences. Thus, in the principles of jurisprudence, the scholars have agreed that to determine the religious status of any issue, one should first refer to the Book of Allah; if it is not found there, then refer to the Sunnah of the Messenger; if not found there either, then refer to the consensus of the Companions. And if the issue is from a later era, then there is a need for ijtihad and deduction, and not everyone can perform this ijtihad, because for this, in addition to expertise in religious sciences, considerable contemplation is also required, and this is not within everyone's capacity. And those who are qualified to perform ijtihad are called "Mujtahid," and these are the ones who deserve to be called "People of Dhikr," and the general public is commanded to ask them about religious matters.

Why is Personal Taqleed Prohibited:

The followers of taqleed use this verse to prove taqleed as a religious proof and say that taqleed is a religious necessity. If the matter remained at this point, then there would be no room for disagreement or dispute. The dispute begins when a person is bound to remain a follower of a particular Imam Mujtahid, then group bias arises among them, so every scholar starts to state the superiority of his Imam and to disparage other Mujtahids. Then, when further bias develops, they try to give preference to their Imam's statement over hadith, and they try to interpret or weaken the hadith only so that the correctness of their Imam's statement is not affected. This blind following is called "personal taqleed," which can in no way be considered commendable, nor is it a commendable act to bind someone to follow a particular Imam. The argument given against abandoning personal taqleed is that people would then take advantage of the concessions and allowances from every Imam. To these people, it is submitted that if any Mujtahid or scholar deduces a concession from the Shariah itself, then who has the right to impose restrictions on the concessions of Shariah and make the paths of religion difficult, and to block the vast mercy of Allah? And this personal taqleed is prohibited in the sense that, due to bias and extremism, it becomes the basis of sectarianism, which is religiously forbidden.
[45]
What is the Explanation of the Quran?

From this verse, it is understood that your responsibility was not only to recite to the people the words that were revealed to you from Allah, or to have them written down, or to memorize them yourself and have others memorize them as well. Rather, in addition to this, you had three more important responsibilities, one of which is mentioned here, which is that you should also explain and clarify to the people the meaning and interpretation of what has been revealed to you. If someone does not understand something, you should explain it to them. If they ask a question, you should answer it. As for what the explanation or clarification of the Quran is, for this, see the footnote of Surah Ibrahim, verse number 4.

Refutation of the Rejecters of Hadith and the People of the Quran:

Incidentally, three things are understood from this verse: First, in this verse is a complete refutation of those rejecters of hadith or "People of the Quran" who think that your status ﴿معاذ الله﴾ was only that of a messenger delivering a letter. The Quran was revealed to you, and you conveyed it to the Ummah exactly as it was. Your responsibility was only this, which you fulfilled. And that the Quran contains complete guidance for the Ummah. Their refutation is in the sense that the Quran itself is stating that its explanation or clarification is also necessary, and this too is your responsibility, because without the explanation of the Quran, its following is impossible. Secondly, your explanation or clarification or statements, or in technical terms, your Sunnah or Hadith, is also obligatory to follow in exactly the same way as following the Quran is obligatory. And thirdly, whoever denies the explanation of the Quran is certainly a denier of the Quran itself.