Ask not about things which, if made plain to you (Surah Al-Ma’idah 5: 101-102)

Before you, a community asked such questions, then on that account they became disbelievers. (Surah Al-Ma’idah 5: 102)

Unnecessary Questioning is Disapproved of

Allah said next,

O you who believe! Ask not about things which, if made plain to you, may cause you trouble.  This Ayah refers to good conduct that Allah is teaching His believing servants, by forbidding them from asking about useless things. Since if they get the answers they sought, they might be troublesome for them and difficult on their ears. Al-Bukhari recorded that Anas bin Malik (Radhi Allahu Anhu) said, "The Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) gave a speech unlike anything I heard before. In this speech, he (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) said,

If you but know what I know, you will laugh little and cry a lot.  The companions of Allah's Messenger (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) covered their faces and the sound of crying was coming out of their chests. A man asked, `Who is my father' The Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) said, `So-and-so'. This Ayah was later revealed,

Ask not about things.... '' Muslim, Ahmad, At-Tirmidhi and An-Nasa'i recorded this Hadith. Ibn Jarir recorded that Qatadah said about Allah's statement,

O you who believe! Ask not about things which, if made plain to you, may cause you trouble. Anas bin Malik (Radhi Allahu Anhu) narrated that once, the people were questioning the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) until they made him angry. So he (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) ascended the Minbar and said,

You will not ask me about anything today but I will explain it to you. So the Companions of the Messenger of Allah feared that it was the commencement of a momentous event, and I looked to my right and left and found only people who covered their faces, crying. An argumentative man who was said to be the son of someone other than his true father asked, "O Allah's Messenger! Who is my father The Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) said,

`Your father is Hudhafah.''  `Umar (Radhi Allahu Anhu) stood up (when he saw anger on the Prophet's face) and said, "We accept Allah as our Lord, Islam as our religion and Muhammad as our Messenger, I seek refuge with Allah from the evil of the Fitan (trials in life and religion).'' The Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) said,

I have never witnessed both goodness and evil like I have today. Paradise and the Fire were shown to me and I saw them before that wall. This Hadith was recorded in the Two Sahihs from Sa`id. Al-Bukhari recorded that Ibn `Abbas (Radhi Allahu Anhuma) said, "Some people used to question the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam)  to mock him. One of them would ask, `Who is my father,' while another would ask, `Where is my camel,' when he lost his camel. Allah sent down this Ayah about them,

O you who believe! Ask not about things which, if made plain to you, may cause you trouble...).'' Imam Ahmad recorded that `Ali  (Radhi Allahu Anhu) said, "When this Ayah was revealed,

And Hajj to the House is a duty that mankind owes to Allah, those who can bear the journey.[Surah Al-‘Imran 3: 97],  they asked, `O Allah's Messenger! Is it required every year' He did not answer them, and they asked again, `Is it every year' He still did not answer them, so they asked, `Is it every year' He said,

No, and had I said `yes', it would have become obligated, and had it become obligated, you would not be able to bear it. Allah sent down,

O you who believe! Ask not about things which, if made plain to you, may cause you trouble.'' At-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah also recorded this Hadith. The apparent wording of this Ayah indicates that we are forbidden to ask about things that if one has knowledge of, he would be sorry he had asked. Consequently, it is better to avoid such questions. Allah's statement,

But if you ask about them while the Qur'an is being revealed, they will be made plain to you.  means, if you ask about things that you are prohibited from asking about, then when the revelation about them comes to the Messenger (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam), they will be made plain for you,

Verily! That is easy for Allah.(Surah At-Taghabun 64: 7) Allah said next,

Allah has forgiven that, what you did before this,

and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Forbearing.  Do not ask about things that do not have a ruling yet, for because of your questions, a difficult ruling may be ordained. A Hadith states,

The worst criminal among the Muslims is he who asks if a matter is unlawful (or not), and it becomes unlawful because of his asking about it. It is recorded in the Sahih that the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam)  said,

Leave me as I have left you, those before you were destroyed because of many questions and disputing with their Prophets.  


An authentic Hadith also states,

Allah, the Most Honored, has ordained some obligations, so do not ignore them; has set some limits, so do not trespass them; has prohibited some things, so do not commit them; and has left some things without rulings, out of mercy for you, not that He forgot them, so do not ask about them.   Allah said next,

Before you, a community asked such questions, then on that account they became disbelievers meaning, some people before your time asked such questions and they were given answers. They did not believe the answers, so they became disbelievers because of that. This occurred because these rulings were made plain to them, yet they did not benefit at all from that, for they asked about these things not to gain guidance, but only to mock and defy.


Source: Tafsir ibn Kathir (Abridged)