Comparative Study of the Verse "So Ask the Followers of the People of Knowledge" (16:43) Indicative of Scientific Authority of Holy Prophet's Household from the View of Shia and Sunni Commentators

There are several verses in the Holy Quran indicative of scientific authority of Holy Prophet's Household, some of which are stated clearly and through exact indication and others through indication per nexum. One of these verses is the verse 43 of the chapter "Ant" (al-Naml), which clearly refers to the scientific authority of Holy Prophet's household and is much similarly repeated in the verse 7 of the chapter "Prophets" (al-Anbia'). In this verse, The Most High God States, "And we did not send before you any but men to whom we send revelation; so ask the followers of the people of knowledge if you do not know". Having reviewed the key concepts, the present paper seeks to study different views about the referent of people of knowledge. First, a standpoint which, on the basis of the context of the verse, regards the people of knowledge as the people of book is discussed and its problems are explained. Then the limitations of another standpoint are clarified, which regards the verse as a general one in terms of asker, the asked and the object of question. Finally, the view of some Shia and Sunni scholars who, relying on hadiths, regard the Holy Prophet's Household as the referent of the verse are explained and the relevant hadiths narrated in Shia and Sunni sources are taken into consideration.