Ali Ibn Abi Talib - Volume 1 of 2

'Ali ibn Abi Tilib 105
belie~ing."'~' This is part of the method of Amir al-Mu'mineen 'Ati
(&) in interpreting the noble Qur'an by means of the Sunnah.
3.5.7. Asking the Prophet about
what he did not understand
Part of the method of Amir al-Mu'mineen 'Ali (&) in
understanding the noble Qur'an was asking about whatever he did
not understand. For example, he asked the Messenger of Allah (@)
about the greatest day [of hajj] in the verse, 4And a declaration from
Allah and His Messenger to mankind on the greatest day [the 10th of
Dhul-wjjah - the 12th mouth of Islamic calendar]) (Qur'an 9: 3). He
said: I asked the Prophet (g) about the greatest day of hajj, and he
said: the Day of ~ac13ice.l~~ Amir al-Mu'mineen 'Ali ibn Abi T2ib
(&) used this method when narrating from the Messenger of Allah
(g). He said: I said: 0 Messenger of AUah (B), if something befalls
us and there is no clear command or prohibition, what should we do?
He said: Consult the experts in Islamic law and the worshippers, and
do not make a decision in is01ation.l~~
3.5.8. Knowledge of the occasions
on which verses were revealed
This is useful for understanding the meanings of verses and
deriving rulings from them, because tbe reason for revelation is an
important way of understanding the meaning of the Q~r'an.'~~ Amiial-Mu'mineen
'Ali ibn Abi T%b reached a high level of knowledge
of the reasons for revelation of verses. He used to say, when
encouraging people to ask him about the Book of Allah: "Ask me, ask
me, askme about the Book of Allah, for by Allah, there is no verse but I
how whether it was revealed by night or by day."L75 According to
another report: "By Allah, no verse was revealed but I know
concerning what it was revealed and where it was revealed."176