for obligating them upon themselves and upon others. If such questions were put forward while the Messenger ﷺ was still among them and revelation was descending upon him, a ruling would necessarily be given, and that ruling might impose onerous duties. By refraining from those questions one remains safe, for they are matters over which Allah has passed—meaning He left them unmentioned—so do not delve into them. Moreover, the Almighty explains that this type of needless questioning occurred among earlier nations, and its outcome was disastrous for them: when the rulings were clarified, they failed to act on them and were consequently punished.
In short, the two verses generally prohibit asking about issues for which there is no genuine need. Where a need exists—whether in religious or worldly matters—Allah has legislated asking, as He says: “We sent before you only men to whom We revealed—so ask the people of knowledge if you do not know” (al-Anbiya 7). The Prophet ﷺ likewise said, “Why did they not ask when they did not know? Indeed, the cure for ignorance is to ask.”
As for His statement, “Allah has appointed neither a bahira, nor a saʾiba, nor a wasila, nor a hami” (al-Maʾida 103), this introduces a new discussion that rebuts the people of the Age of Ignorance for the customs they invented concerning livestock. Among those customs were:
- The bahira: an animal whose ear they would slit and from which riding, milking, and eating the meat were all forbidden.