Ask Those Who Know

An-Nahl instructs that those who do not know should 'ask the people of the message (ahl al-dhikr) if you do not know' (16:43), a verse classical jurisprudence developed into a foundational proof text for consulting recognised scholars on matters of religion, cited across later Islamic legal writing as scriptural grounding for deferring to specialised religious knowledge rather than deciding contested questions independently. The identity of the 'people of the message' addressed in its original context, generally read as earlier scriptural communities or messengers, is distinguished by commentators from its later, broader legal application to religious scholars generally.

An-Nahl also condemns, in passing but pointed language, the pre-Islamic Arabian practice of burying unwanted infant daughters alive, describing a father's shame at the birth of a daughter and his choice between keeping her in disgrace or burying her in the ground (16:58-59), a passage classical and modern commentary alike cite as direct Quranic condemnation of female infanticide, treated as one of the clearest single Quranic texts addressing the practice. Some modern legal and social commentary cites the same infanticide passage when arguing that Islamic scripture opposed practices harmful to women from its earliest revelation, a reading contested by critics who note the verses address a specific pre-Islamic custom rather than setting out a general theory of women's status.