Jump to content

Draft:Verse 36 of Sura al-Isra

Add links
From wikishia

Template:Infobox Verse Verse 36 of Sura al-Isra (Arabic: آیه ۳۶ سوره اسراء) is a recommendation not to follow that of which one has no knowledge. Not following what one does not know is considered an instance of wisdom.

In verse 36 of Sura al-Isra, the reason for the prohibition of following non-knowledge is stated to be that in the Hereafter, the human ear, eye, and heart will be questioned and will bear witness for or against the human regarding the true or untrue matters they have heard, seen, or believed. Exegetes have considered the prohibition of following non-knowledge to include following both unscientific beliefs and unscientific actions. This prohibition is regarded as a result of the ruling of nature. Knowledge in this verse is considered to be any awareness corresponding to reality that a human has attained either by themselves or through imitation.

It is said that a group of Shi'a scholars, arguing based on verse 36 of Sura al-Isra, have stated that acting based on analogy and solitary report is not permissible, because knowledge is not obtained through these two. Some exegetes have used the recommendation of this verse as a basis for ethical inferences, and others have considered it one of the most important principles of social life.

Do Not Follow What You Do Not Know

Exegetes have interpreted the meaning of verse 36 of Sura al-Isra as the prohibition of following that of which one has no knowledge.[1] Exegetes such as Amin al-Islam al-Tabrisi and Allameh Tabataba'i, due to the absolute nature of the prohibition in the verse, have considered it to include following both unscientific beliefs and unscientific actions.[2] Nasir Makarim Shirazi, a Shi'a exegete, believes that the attempt of some exegetes to restrict the generality of the verse's ruling to some of its instances has no reliable reason.[3]

Allameh Tabataba'i regarded the prohibition of following non-knowledge in verse 36 of Sura al-Isra as a result of the ruling of nature.[4] According to him, humans throughout their lives strive based on their nature to make their beliefs and actions correspond to external realities; this correspondence is achieved only through following knowledge.[5]

The prohibition of following non-knowledge in verse 36 of Sura al-Isra, along with some other ethical and social recommendations in the verses before and after it, is considered in verse 39 of Sura al-Isra as an instance of wisdom that God has revealed to His Prophet.[6]

Do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge. Indeed hearing, eyesight, and the heart —all of these are accountable.

— وَلَا تَقْفُ مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِ عِلْمٌ إِنَّ السَّمْعَ وَالْبَصَرَ وَالْفُؤَادَ كُلُّ أُولَٰئِكَ كَانَ عَنْهُ مَسْئُولاً

Reason for Prohibition of Following Non-Knowledge

In verse 36 of Sura al-Isra, the phrase "Indeed hearing, eyesight, and the heart —all of these are accountable" is considered the reason for the prohibition of following non-knowledge.[7] Based on this reasoning, the verse is interpreted as follows: the ear, eye, and heart will be questioned in the Hereafter and will testify for or against the human regarding the true or untrue matters they have heard, seen, or believed; therefore, humans must avoid following what they have no knowledge of and which may be contrary to reality.[8]

According to Makarim Shirazi, the reason why only hearing and sight are mentioned among the five senses in verse 36 of Sura al-Isra is that human sensory knowledge is mostly obtained through these two ways.[9] It is said that since these senses themselves will be questioned in the Hereafter, they are referred to with the pronoun specific to rational beings (ulāʾika).[10]

Meaning of Knowledge

Allameh Tabataba'i considers knowledge in verse 36 of Sura al-Isra to mean any awareness corresponding to reality that a human has attained either by themselves or through imitation.[11] In his view, imitation in matters where a human does not have the ability to attain knowledge is itself an action in accordance with nature.[12] Tabataba'i considers imitation in the Branches of Religion and referring to experts in various scientific and technical fields as such matters.[13]

Fakhr al-Razi (544/1149-50 - 606/1210), a Sunni exegete, has considered following conjecture (zann: a mental state between doubt and certainty) also subject to the prohibition of verse 36 of Sura al-Isra.[14] It is said that since acting based on conjecture is confirmed in some religious rulings, Fakhr al-Razi has limited the generality of the prohibition of the verse to justify this confirmation.[15] According to Fakhr al-Razi, the authority of following conjecture in some religious rulings is excluded from the scope of the verse's prohibition, and the permissibility of acting upon it stems from the consensus of the Umma.[16] Allameh Tabataba'i, criticizing Fakhr al-Razi's view, says that in many cases in human life, acting upon conjecture is confirmed by relying on scientific and rational reasons, and following conjecture based on a scientific reason for the obligation of following it is in fact following knowledge.[17] According to him, relying on this analysis, the generality of verse 36 of Sura al-Isra has not been limited.[18]

Jurisprudential and Usuli Inferences

It is said that a group of Shi'a scholars, arguing based on verse 36 of Sura al-Isra, have stated that acting based on analogy and solitary report is not permissible, because knowledge is not obtained through these two.[19] Sayyid Muhammad Mujahid, a Shi'a Usuli, has mentioned a number of Shi'a Usulis, such as Al-Muhaqqiq al-Hilli,[20] who have argued for the invalidity of analogy relying on this verse.[21]

Muhammad Jawad Mughniyya, a Shi'a exegete, reported that the following cases have been inferred from this verse:

  • The invalidity and prohibition of imitation for someone who can infer rulings from their sources; because such a person has abandoned their own knowledge and acted upon another's knowledge.[22]
  • The prohibition of acting according to analogy and Istihsan and inferring divine rulings relying on these two methods.[23]
  • The prohibition of giving Fatwa by someone who lacks the scientific and practical competence for this task.[24]

Ethical and Social Inferences

Some exegetes have used verse 36 of Sura al-Isra as a basis for ethical inferences and considered adherence to the recommendation of this verse as a cause for the elimination of some moral vices, such as backbiting, tale-bearing, and mockery.[25]

Makarim Shirazi believes that verse 36 of Sura al-Isra refers to one of the most important principles of social life, ignoring which leads to social chaos and the destruction of human relationships and emotional bonds between humans.[26] In his view, not following non-knowledge leads to social stability by negating many social disorders, such as false propaganda and rumor-mongering.[27]

Notes

  1. ↑ Ṭūsī, Al-Tibyān, vol. 6, p. 477; Zamakhsharī, Al-Kashshāf, 1407 AH, vol. 2, p. 666; Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, 1372 Sh, vol. 6, p. 641; Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, 1392 AH, vol. 13, p. 92.
  2. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, 1372 Sh, vol. 6, p. 641; Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, 1392 AH, vol. 13, p. 92.
  3. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 12, p. 116.
  4. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, 1392 AH, vol. 13, p. 92.
  5. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, 1392 AH, vol. 13, p. 92.
  6. ↑ Faḍlallāh, Min waḥy al-Qurʾān, 1419 AH, vol. 14, p. 124.
  7. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, 1392 AH, vol. 13, p. 94; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 12, p. 117.
  8. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, 1392 AH, vol. 13, p. 94; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 12, p. 117.
  9. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 12, p. 117.
  10. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, 1392 AH, vol. 13, p. 94.
  11. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, 1392 AH, vol. 13, pp. 92-93.
  12. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, 1392 AH, vol. 13, p. 92.
  13. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, 1392 AH, vol. 13, p. 93.
  14. ↑ Fakhr al-Rāzī, Al-Tafsīr al-kabīr, 1420 AH, vol. 20, p. 339.
  15. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, 1392 AH, vol. 13, pp. 93-94.
  16. ↑ Fakhr al-Rāzī, Al-Tafsīr al-kabīr, 1420 AH, vol. 20, p. 339.
  17. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, 1392 AH, vol. 13, p. 94.
  18. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, 1392 AH, vol. 13, p. 94.
  19. ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, 1372 Sh, vol. 6, p. 641.
  20. ↑ Muḥaqqiq Ḥillī, Maʿārij al-uṣūl, 1403 AH, p. 188.
  21. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Mafātīḥ al-uṣūl, p. 456.
  22. ↑ Mughniyya, Al-Tafsīr al-kāshif, 1424 AH, vol. 5, p. 43.
  23. ↑ Mughniyya, Al-Tafsīr al-kāshif, 1424 AH, vol. 5, p. 44.
  24. ↑ Mughniyya, Al-Tafsīr al-kāshif, 1424 AH, vol. 5, p. 44.
  25. ↑ Mudarrisī, Min hudā l-Qurʾān, 1419 AH, vol. 6, p. 231.
  26. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 12, p. 118.
  27. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 12, p. 118.

References

  • Faḍlallāh, Muḥammad Ḥusayn. Min waḥy al-Qurʾān. Beirut, Dār al-Malāk, 1419 AH.
  • Fakhr al-Rāzī, Muḥammad b. ʿUmar. Al-Tafsīr al-kabīr. Beirut, Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1420 AH.
  • Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir. Tafsīr-i nimūna. Tehran, Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, 1374 Sh.
  • Mudarrisī, Muḥammad Taqī. Min hudā l-Qurʾān. Tehran, Dār Muḥibbī al-Ḥusayn, 1419 AH.
  • Mughniyya, Muḥammad Jawād. Al-Tafsīr al-kāshif. Qom, Dār al-Kitāb al-Islāmī, 1424 AH.
  • Muḥaqqiq Ḥillī, Jaʿfar b. Ḥasan al-. Maʿārij al-uṣūl. Edited by Muḥammad Ḥusayn Raḍawī Kashmīrī. Qom, Muʾassasat Āl al-Bayt (a) li-Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth, 1403 AH.
  • Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Sayyid Muḥammad b. ʿAlī. Mafātīḥ al-uṣūl. Qom, Muʾassasat Āl al-Bayt (a) li-Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth, n.d.
  • Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn. Al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Beirut, Muʾassasat al-Aʿlamī li-l-Maṭbūʿāt, 1392 AH.
  • Ṭabrisī, Faḍl b. al-Ḥasan al-. Majmaʿ al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Edited by Sayyid Hāshim Rasūlī Maḥallātī & Sayyid Faḍl Allāh Yazdī Ṭabāṭabāʾī. Tehran, Intishārāt-i Nāṣir Khusraw, 1372 Sh.
  • Ṭūsī, Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan al-. Al-Tibyān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Edited by Aḥmad Ḥabīb al-ʿĀmilī. Beirut, Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, n.d.
  • Zamakhsharī, Maḥmūd b. ʿUmar al-. Al-Kashshāf ʿan ḥaqāʾiq ghawāmiḍ al-tanzīl wa ʿuyūn al-aqāwīl fī wujūh al-taʾwīl. Edited by Muṣṭafā Ḥusayn Aḥmad. Beirut, Dār al-Kitāb al-ʿArabī, 1407 AH.

Template:Ethical Verses

Retrieved from "https://en.wikishia.net/w/index.php?title=Draft:Verse_36_of_Sura_al-Isra&oldid=202629"