Qur'anic Verses Praising Tafaqquh and Thought
This section examines Quranic verses that praise tafaqquh (deep understanding), following evidence, seeking knowledge, thinking, and reflection.
Verses Related to Informed Following
- Those who shun the worship of false gods and turn penitent to God — for them is good tidings! (39:17) So give good tidings to My servants who hear the Word and follow the fairest of it. Those are they whom God has guided; those are the possessors of intellect. (18)
Commentators have said that "taghut" applies to anyone who transgresses boundaries — sorcerers, soothsayers, those who obstruct the path of good, idols, devils, and all who are obeyed without God's pleasure. From this perspective, the scholars and clergy whom Christians and Jews imitated, and whose act God described as "they have taken their rabbis and monks as lords besides Allah," are also included among the taghut, especially if they use various tools and tricks to maintain their dominance over people's thinking and enslave them intellectually.
This verse gives good tidings to God's servants: if they refrain from worshipping and practically obeying the taghut, constantly listen to different sayings, and follow the fairest of them, then they will be guided and be among the possessors of intellect. Note that the word "yastami'una" (they listen) rather than "yasma'una" (they hear) conveys listening with intention and attention.
- And those who, when they are reminded of the signs of their Lord, do not fall deaf and blind upon them. (25:73)
This is one of the most magnificent verses of the Qur'an, describing God's good servants as those who, when reminded of their Lord's signs, do not fall upon them deaf and blind! As will be explained in Verses of Reflection and Reasoning in Rulings, rulings are also God's signs, so when God's ruling is conveyed to us, we are likewise subject to this recommendation and duty. This verse also shows that Imitation of God Is Not Permitted Either.
- What, do they not ponder the Qur'an? If it had been from other than God, they would have found in it much inconsistency. (4:82)
Shaykh Tusi and Ibn Shahr Ashub considered this verse as evidence for the invalidity of taqlid, although they then added the qualification "in the faith fundamentals" and provided a reason that happens to also apply to rulings. See Verses of Reflection and Reasoning in Rulings for more details.
Ironically, many proponents of taqlid rely on the claim that understanding the Qur'an is difficult, that there are many disagreements about it, that every scholar says something different in its interpretation, and that we have no choice but to select the one we consider most learned and follow whatever he deduces! Yet this verse says the Qur'an does not have the characteristic of human books in which much inconsistency is found. In this book, unlike non-divine books, you will not find much inconsistency (if any at all), leaving no excuse for not examining and reflecting, and it addresses the general public: why do you not ponder?!
Parent page: Taqlid in the Qur'an and Narrations
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