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bal huwa ʾāyātun bayyinātun fī ṣudūri lladhīna ʾūtū l-ʿilma wa-mā yajḥadu bi-ʾāyātinā ʾillā ẓ-ẓālimūna
Indeed, it is [present as] manifest signs in the breasts of those who have been given knowledge, and none contests Our signs except wrongdoers.
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah Al-‘Ankabut - Verse 49
49. “Nay! It (Qur’an) is the clear signs in the breasts of those who have been granted the knowledge, and none but the unjust reject Our Signs.”
The verses of the Holy Qur’an influence in scholars’ hearts and it is this group who apprehend the truthfulness of the Qur’an with their whole selves. In this holy verse, there are stated some other signs for the legitimacy of the Qur’an. It implies that this heavenly Book is a collection of clear verses which influence in the breasts of the bearers of knowledge. The verse says:
The application of the Qur’anic phrase: /’ayatun bayyinat/ refers to this fact that the signs of legitimacy of the Qur’an are found in the Qur’an itself and in its verses, and its proof is with it. In fact, it is the genetic verses that by the recitation of which man needs no other thing to understand the truth. These verses containing of divine legislation, from the point of both appearance and content, are in such a manner that they all are the proof of their own truthfulness.
Besides that, the adherents and lovers of these verses are those who have a portion of knowledge and awareness, though they are poor. In other words, one of the ways of knowing the nobility of a school of thought, is verification of the state of the believers of that school. If some ignorant persons or charlatans are the supporters of someone, it seems that he is of the same group, but if some people, who carry the secrets of knowledge in their breasts, announce their loyalty to a school of thought, it is the evidence of legitimacy of that school.
And, we see that a group of the learned among the People of the Book and some pious personalities, such as Abuthar, Salman, Miqdad, ‘Ammar-i-Yasir, and a high esteemed person like Hadrat Ali (as) were the supporter, and lovers of this school. According to a great deal of traditions narrated from the way of Ahlul Bayt (as) this holy verse has been rendered into the Imams of Ahlul Bayt (as). This does not mean exclusiveness, but it is the statement of a clear example for the Qur’anic phrase: /’allaŏina ’utul-‘ilm/ (those who have been granted the knowledge).
When we see that some Islamic narrations declare that the purpose of the verse is Imams, in particular, it, indeed, is an indication, to the perfect stage of the knowledge of the Qur’an which is at their disposal, and it does not matter that scholars, learned ones, and the mass of people who have commonsense have a portion of the sciences of the Qur’an. However, this verse shows that knowledge is not limited to what is studied through books and what is learnt in front of teachers, because, as the Qur’an explicitly says, the Prophet (S) did not go to school and did not learn how to write but he was the highest referent of a concept of the Qur’anic sentence saying:
Therefore, beyond the formal knowledge, there is a knowledge higher than that which may be inspired unto the heart of man in the form of a light, which is the essence of knowledge, and other sciences are as an outward cover for it. An Islamic tradition says:
“knowledge is a light that Allah puts it in the heart of whom He desires.” 31
At the end, verse the Qur’an adds:
It is because the sings of it are clear: the bringer of it is the unschooled Prophet (S), and some thoughtful aware persons believe in it. Moreover, the Qur’an itself is a collection of clear verses, and its characteristics have also been mentioned in the former Divine Books. Yet, do reject it save those who are unjust to their selves and to the society? We repeat again that the Arabic word /jahd/ is used for a person who knows something but, in spite of his knowledge, he denies it.
Footnotes