Surah 2:108
Show Full Scripture Context (2:108) — 1 Verse
أَمۡ تُرِيدُونَ أَن تَسۡـَٔلُواْ رَسُولَكُمۡ كَمَا سُئِلَ مُوسَىٰ مِن قَبۡلُۗ وَمَن يَتَبَدَّلِ ٱلۡكُفۡرَ بِٱلۡإِيمَٰنِ فَقَدۡ ضَلَّ سَوَآءَ ٱلسَّبِيلِ
Or do you wish to question your messenger, as Moses was questioned before? Whoever exchanges belief for disbelief has indeed gone astray from the right way.
The Prohibition of Unnecessary Questions
In this Ayah, Allah forbade the believers from asking the Prophet jg numerous questions about matters that did not occur yet. Similarly, Allah said,
{O you who believe! Ask not about things which, if made plain to you, may cause you trouble. But if you ask about them while the Qur’an is being revealed, they will be made plain to you} (5:101).
This Ayah means, “If you ask about a matter after it is revealed, it shall be duly explained to you. Therefore, do not ask about matters that have not occurred yet, for they might become prohibited, due to your questions.” This is why the Sahah narrated.
“77ie greatest criminal among the Muslims is the one who asks if a thing is prohibited, which is not prohibited, and it becomes prohibited because of his asking about itJ
This is why when the Messenger of Allah was asked about a husband who finds another man with his wife; if he exposes the adultery, he will be exposing a major incident; if he is quiet about it, he will be quiet about a major matter. The Messenger of Allah jg did not like such questions. Later on, Allah revealed the ruling of Mul&'anah Refer to [{Nur 24:6-9} in the Qur’an). The Two Sahihs recorded that Al-Mughirah bin Shu'bah said that the Messenger of Allah 2g “Forbade saying, It was said’ and ‘He said,’ and wasting money and asking many questions.” 11 *
Muslim recorded that the Prophet jg said,
{Leave me as I leave you; those before you were only destroyed because of their excessive questioning and disputing with their Prophets. Therefore, when I command you with a matter, adltere to it as much as you can, and when l forbid from something, avoid it.»
The Prophet ag only said this after he told the Companions that Allah has ordered them to perform Hajj. A man asked, “Every year, O Messenger of Allah?” The Prophet jg did not answer him, but he repeated his question three times. Then the Prophet jjg said,
a No. Had I said yes, it would have been ordained, and you ivould not have been able to implement tfV 11
This is why Anas bin Malik said, “We were forbidden from asking the Messenger of Allah jg about things. So we were delighted when a bedouin man would come and ask him while we listened .” 121
Muhammad bin Ishaq said that Muhammad bin Abi Muhammad told him that Ikrimah or Said said that Ibn ‘Abbas said that RafT bin Huraymilah or Wahb bin Zayd said, “O Muhammad! Bring us a Book sent down from heaven and which we could read, and make some rivers flow for us, then we will follow you and believe in you.” Allah sent down the answer to this challenge,
{Or do you want to ask your Messenger (Muhammad as Musa was asked before (i.e. show us openly our Lord)? And he who changes faith far disbelief, verily, he has gone astray from the right way^)^
Allah criticized those who ask the Messenger of Allah jg about a certain matter just for the purpose of being difficult, just as the Children of Israel asked Musa out of stubbornness, rejection and rebellion. Allah said.
{And he who changes faith for disbelief} meaning, whoever prefers disbelief to faith,
{verily, he has gone astray frotn the right way} meaning, he has strayed from the straight path, to the path of ignorance and misguidance. This is the case of those who deviated from accepting the Prophets and obeying them and those who kept asking their Prophets unnecessary questions in defiance and disbelief, just as Allah said,
{Have you not seen those who have changed the blessings of Allah into disbelief (by denying Prophet Muhammad sg and his Message of Islam), and caused their people to dwell in the house of destruction? Hell, in which they will bum and what an evil place to settle in!} (14:28-29).
Abu Al-‘Aliyah commented, “They exchanged comfort for hardship.” 111
— from Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Vol. 1, Page 328-331)