Musa al-Mubarraq (the brother of Imam Ali al-Hadi, peace be upon him) said: “I encountered Yahya ibn Aktham in the public court. Yahya asked me several questions, and I went to my brother, Ali ibn Muhammad al-Hadi (peace be upon him). A conversation took place between us, and he gave me counsel and guidance that made me enlightened and encouraged me to obey him. Then I said to him: ‘May I be sacrificed for you, Ibn Aktham has written me a letter and asked questions, seeking my legal opinion.’ Imam (peace be upon him) smiled and said, ‘Did you give him a legal opinion?’ I replied, ‘No, I did not know.’ He asked, ‘What are the questions?’ I said: ‘He asked me about the following:’
About Allah’s saying in verse 40 of Surah An-Naml: ‘One who had knowledge of the Scripture said, “I will bring it to you before your gaze returns to you.” Was Prophet Solomon in need of Asif’s knowledge? Could he not have brought the throne of Bilqis himself?’
About Allah’s saying in verse 100 of Surah Yusuf: ‘And he raised his parents upon the throne, and they fell down before him in prostration.’ Did Prophet Ya’qub and his children, who were prophets, prostrate to Yusuf?
About Allah’s saying in verse 94 of Surah Yunus: ‘If you are in doubt about what We have revealed to you, ask those who read the Scripture.’ Who is this verse addressed to? If it refers to the Prophet, then he was in doubt about what was revealed to him. If it refers to someone else, then to whom was the Qur’an revealed? Was the Qur’an revealed to someone other than the Messenger of Allah?
Why is the Fajr prayer recited aloud, even though it is one of the daily prayers, and the ruling for loud recitation applies to the night prayers?’
Musa al-Mubarraq also mentioned other questions from Yahya related to jurisprudence and history to Imam al-Hadi (peace be upon him).
Then Imam al-Hadi (peace be upon him) said: ‘Write him a response.’ Musa replied, ‘What should I write?’ The Imam (peace be upon him) said: ‘Write:
“In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. Your letter has arrived, and may Allah guide you to the right path. Your aim in asking these questions was to test us and cause us hardship so that if our answers were insufficient, you could find an opportunity to criticize us. May Allah reward you according to your intentions. We have answered your questions in detail in this letter. Therefore, listen carefully, prepare your understanding, and know that the argument has been made against you. Peace be upon you.’
You asked about Allah’s statement: ‘One who had knowledge of the Scripture said …’ This person was Asif ibn Barkhiya. Prophet Solomon (peace be upon him) was not in need of Asif’s knowledge, but he wanted to show his people, both jinn and humans, that Asif’s knowledge was equal to Solomon’s knowledge, which was entrusted to Asif by God to ensure that there would be no dispute about his leadership. This is similar to how Solomon’s knowledge was passed to him during the time of Prophet Dawood (peace be upon him) to establish the legitimacy of his prophecy and leadership. Thus, the proof for creation was completed.
As for the prostration of Ya’qub and his children, it was out of obedience to Allah and out of love for Yusuf (peace be upon him), just as the angels prostrated to Adam (peace be upon him), not for Adam himself but for obedience to Allah and to show their affection for Adam (peace be upon him). Therefore, Ya’qub and his children prostrated with Yusuf, in gratitude for the reunion of their family. Did you not notice that when Yusuf (peace be upon him) expressed his gratitude to Allah, he said, ‘My Lord, You have granted me kingship and taught me the interpretation of dreams’?
As for the statement of Allah, ‘If you are in doubt about what We have revealed to you, ask those who read the Scripture,’ the address is indeed to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), and he had no doubt about what was revealed to him. However, the ignorant people said, ‘Why did Allah not send an angel as a messenger instead of a human being, since there is no difference between us and the Prophet in terms of eating, drinking, and walking in the market?’ So Allah instructed His Messenger to ask those who read the Scripture, in front of these ignorant people, ‘Has Allah ever sent a messenger before who did not eat or walk in the markets?’
The expression ‘If you have doubt’ is not to indicate that the Prophet had doubt, but rather it is for fairness in his statement, just as in Surah Al-Imran, verse 54, during the event of Mubahala, where Allah says: ‘Bring our sons and your sons, our women and your women, and ourselves and yourselves, then let us supplicate and call upon Allah’s curse on the liars.’ Had the Prophet said, ‘Let us call upon Allah’s curse on you,’ they would have refused the challenge. Although Allah knew that the Prophet was truthful and conveyed His message, He wanted the Prophet to maintain fairness in his speech, without directly attributing doubt to his own words.
- As for the loud recitation of Fajr prayer, it is because the Prophet (peace be upon him) performed the Fajr prayer early in the morning, when it was still dark. Therefore, it is considered similar to the recitations of the night prayers.”
Thus, Imam al-Hadi (peace be upon him) answered the other questions of Yahya on jurisprudential and historical matters as well.
Taken from the book “Tuhaf al-Uqool” by Abu Muhammad al-Harani (rahimahullah)”