Surah Az-Zukhruf (43) — Ayah 45

(Ayah 45) ➊ { وَ سْـَٔلْ مَنْ اَرْسَلْنَا مِنْ قَبْلِكَ مِنْ رُّسُلِنَاۤ … :} Here is a question: the previous messengers have passed away, so how can they be asked? The answer is that asking the messengers means to find out from their books, just as in Allah’s statement: « فَاِنْ تَنَازَعْتُمْ فِيْ شَيْءٍ فَرُدُّوْهُ اِلَى اللّٰهِ وَ الرَّسُوْلِ» [ النساء : ۵۹ ] (Then if you disagree over anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger), the meaning now is not that if you have a dispute in any matter, take it to Allah and the Messenger in person, but rather that you should refer to the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Messenger. Similarly, the meaning of this verse is that by studying the teachings of all the previous messengers, see whether there is any mention that Allah has appointed any beings besides the Most Merciful to be worshipped, and whether any prophet has permitted shirk. Clearly, the answer is in the negative. There is neither any rational nor transmitted evidence in favor of shirk. (See Ahqaf: 4) The purpose of the verse is to make the Quraysh realize that all the prophets called to the worship of the One Allah; shirk has never been permissible in any Shariah, as He said: « وَ مَاۤ اَرْسَلْنَا مِنْ قَبْلِكَ مِنْ رَّسُوْلٍ اِلَّا نُوْحِيْۤ اِلَيْهِ اَنَّهٗ لَاۤ اِلٰهَ اِلَّاۤ اَنَا فَاعْبُدُوْنِ» [ الأنبیاء : ۲۵ ] “And We did not send any messenger before you except that We revealed to him that there is no deity except Me, so worship Me.” And as He said: « وَ لَقَدْ بَعَثْنَا فِيْ كُلِّ اُمَّةٍ رَّسُوْلًا اَنِ اعْبُدُوا اللّٰهَ وَ اجْتَنِبُوا الطَّاغُوْتَ » [ النحل : ۳۶ ] “And indeed We sent to every nation a messenger, [proclaiming], ‘Worship Allah and avoid Taghut.’”

➋ Some commentators have explained its meaning as: when you meet the prophets, as happened on the night of Mi’raj, then you should ask them this question. However, there is no mention in the Qur’an or hadith that you (ﷺ) asked any prophet this question on the night of Mi’raj or on any other occasion. If this were the meaning of the verse, then you (ﷺ) would certainly have asked them. Even if a weak narration mentions that you (ﷺ) asked the prophets this question, it holds no weight.

45. 1 The answer is certainly in the negative. Allah has not given this command to any prophet. Rather, on the contrary, every prophet was commanded to call towards Tawheed.

45. And ask [44] those Messengers whom We sent before you: “Did We ever appoint any gods to be worshipped besides the Most Merciful?”

[44]
The Believers in the Life of Prophets After Death and Its Refutation:

In this verse, most commentators have explained the meaning of ﴿واسْئَلْ﴾ in two ways: one is that you should ask the heirs of these prophets, the scholars or the scholars of Bani Israel. And the second meaning is that you should search in the books of these messengers to see if it is written anywhere that we have made any other deities besides ourselves, whose worship should be performed. However, there are also some individuals who wish to establish the complete life of the prophets and saints in the realm of Barzakh. That is, they hear the calls of people and also respond to them. In fact, even beyond this, their authority is such that they relieve the difficulties and fulfill the needs of those who call upon them. Accordingly, one such person, after translating this verse, states: "If the prophets did not have life, if they could not understand address and call, and if they did not have the power to respond, then Allah Almighty would not have commanded His beloved ﷺ to inquire from the prophets and messengers." Such individuals generally belong to the Barelvi sect. Therefore, here we quote footnote number 45 from Naeemuddin Muradabadi on the translation of Ahmad Raza Khan Barelvi (Kanzul Iman): "The meaning of asking the messengers is to search their religions and nations. Has idol worship ever been permitted in the community of any prophet? And most commentators have explained its meaning as: ask the believing People of the Book. Has any prophet permitted the worship of other than Allah? So that it may be established upon the polytheists that neither has any messenger taught creature-worship nor has it come in any book. There is also a narration that on the night of Mi'raj, the Leader of the Worlds led all the prophets in prayer at Bayt al-Maqdis. When the Prophet finished the prayer, Jibreel said: O Noble Leader ﷺ! Ask the prophets before you whether Allah has permitted the worship of anyone besides Himself? The Prophet replied: There is no need for this question, that is, there is no doubt that all the prophets have been calling to monotheism. All have forbidden creature-worship." [سوره زخرف كا حاشيه نمبر 45 از نعيم الدين مراد آبادي]
Now see, the narration mentioned in this footnote appears to be incorrect. The reason is that this verse of Surah Zukhruf was revealed quite some time after the incident of Mi'raj. Surah Bani Isra'il, in which the incident of Isra is mentioned, is number 50 in the order of revelation, while Surah Zukhruf is number 63 in the order of revelation. The incident of Mi'raj occurred a year and a half or two before the Hijrah, while this Surah was revealed at a time when the disbelievers were intent on taking your life, as is clear from verses 79–80 of this Surah. Therefore, how is it possible that before the revelation of the mentioned verse, Jibreel would say to the Prophet ﷺ to ask these messengers and then recite the entire verse?