Musa ibn Muhammad says: One day I saw Yahya ibn Aktham. He asked me several questions. Afterward, I went to my brother, Imam Ali al-Hadi (peace be upon him), and there was a discussion between us which made it clear that obedience to him was necessary and obligatory. I asked him, “O son of the Messenger of God! Yahya ibn Aktham has asked me several questions and wants me to answer him.” Imam al-Hadi (peace be upon him) replied, “Did you answer him?” I said, “No, I did not know the answers.” He then asked, “What were the questions?” I replied, “He has written to me, asking:
In the Quran, God says, ‘One who had knowledge of the Book said: I will bring it to you before your glance returns’ [1]. The questioner is Prophet Solomon, and the responder is Asif ibn Barkhiya. Does Prophet Solomon need the knowledge of Asif?
And in the verse: ‘If you are in doubt about what We have sent down to you, ask those who read the Scriptures before you’ [2]. If the recipient of the verse is the Prophet himself, then it means he also doubted (had uncertainty), and if the recipient is someone else, then who did the Quran descend upon?”
Imam al-Hadi (peace be upon him) replied, “Write to him.” I asked, “What should I write?” He said, “Write: ‘In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. May God guide you. Your letter has reached me, and you intend to test us with it. And if we fall short in answering, you would criticize us. Certainly, God will punish you for your intentions. We have answered your questions, so listen carefully and humble your understanding before it, and dedicate your heart to it. The proof has come to you. Peace be upon you.'”
Regarding the verse: “One who had knowledge of the Book said: I will bring it to you before your glance returns,” Solomon knew what Asif knew and even more; however, he wanted to make it clear to his people, both jinn and humans, that the proof (Asif) after him would be the one to lead. What Asif did was taught to him by Solomon, so there would be no dispute regarding Solomon’s leadership and authority.
And regarding the verse: “If you are in doubt about what We have sent down to you, ask those who read the Scriptures before you,” the recipient of the verse is the Prophet himself, and he had no doubt about what had been revealed to him. However, the ignorant people would ask, “Why did God not send a prophet from the angels? Why did He not make His prophet free from eating, drinking, and interacting in the marketplaces?”
Therefore, God revealed to the Prophet to ask the scholars of the Scripture (Torah) in front of these ignorant ones. “Has God ever sent a prophet who did not eat or drink or go to the marketplaces?” And since such a prophet had not been sent before, God was reminding them, “O Muhammad, you are no different from them in these aspects.”
The use of the phrase “If you are in doubt” — even though the Prophet never had doubt — was for the sake of fairness in discourse and debate. As God mentions in the verse of Mubahala: “Say, ‘Come, let us call our sons, your sons, our women, your women, and ourselves, you yourselves, then let us pray earnestly and invoke the curse of God upon the liars'” [3]. If God had said, “Let us invoke God’s curse upon you,” they would not have accepted the invitation. Therefore, even though God knew His Prophet was truthful and had fulfilled His duty, He chose to maintain fairness in His words, rejecting the liars.
(Excerpt from Tuhaf al-Uqul, by Hasan ibn Shabha Harani, pages 476–481)[4]
Footnotes:
[1] Surah An-Naml, verse 40
[2] Surah Yunus, verse 94
[3] Surah Al-Imran, verse 61
[4] Pages 476–481 of Tuhaf al-Uqul