Question:

According to Al-Halabi, are the scholars the people of reminder (16:43)?

Answer:

Abu As-Salah Al-Halabi writes: “One of the proofs for the leadership of the Imams (a.) is the verse: “So ask the people of the reminder, if you do not know.” (16:43) He commanded those, who do not know, to question the people of remembrance so that they may know. He did not designate it with one thing without the other thing and that leads to, those being questioned having knowledge about everything. They question the infallible in that, what they give in information (fatwa), for it would be a despicable thing,that one would have to question him, about that, whereat what he was being questioned, he would not know (the answer) and also because of the lack of knowledge from that, who gives the information (fatwa),in which mistakes of intent or negligence are valid. So when both of these characteristics are proven, that the people of reminder are those whose questioning in verse (16:43) has been ordered,then also their distinction is proven by the aforementioned, because no one says that about the verse, through which the aforementioned are distinguished and if you want, then say: “No one has proved these two qualities in anyone but them!” But anyone, who has acknowledged them for the aforementioned, acknowledged the leadership of the Imams (a.), for because their information (fatwa) is binding according to the knowledge, their imitation in it becomes equally binding because they are protected from error, to the exclusion of the one whose information (fatwa) is not binding and who is not protected from error in it, and the obligation, to imitate it, is an evidence of the leadership of the Imams (a.) and by this aspect the opinion of the one who claims that the people of reminder in the verse (16:43) are the Jews and Nazarenes or recitators or jurists, due to the absence of these proven qualities of the people of reminder in each one of them with consensus, is nullified.” [Al-Kafi, p. 93]

قال أبو الصلاح الحلبي: ومما يدل على إمامتهم صلوات الله عليهم قوله تعالى فاسئلوا أهل الذكر إن كنتم لا تعلمون فأمر من لا يعلم بسؤال أهل الذكر ليعلم، ولم يخص ذلك بشئ، دون شئ، وذلك مقتض لعلم المسؤولين بكل شي يسألون عنه معصومين فيما يفتون به، لقبح الأمر بمسألة من لا يعلم ما يسئل عنه، وعدم العلم لفتيا من يجوز عليه الخطأ عن قصد أو سهو، وإذا ثبت كون أهل الذكر المأمور بمسألتهم في الآية بهاتين الصفتين ثبت تخصيصهما بالمذكورين، لأنه لا أحد قال بذلك في الآية الأخص بها المذكورين وإن شئت قل لا أحد أثبت الصفتين لأحد عداهم، وكل من أثبتها للمذكورين قال بإمامتهم ولأن فتياهم إذا كان موجبا للعلم وجب الاقتداء بهم فيه، لحصول الأمان من زللهم، دون من لا يوجبه فتياه ولا يؤمن فيه الضلال، ووجوب الاقتداء بهم برهان إمامتهم، وبهذا الاعتبار يسقط قول من زعم أن أهل الذكر في الآية هم اليهود والنصارى، أو القراء، أو الفقهاء، لانتفاء الصفتين الثابتتين لأهل الذكر عن كل واحد من هؤلاء باتفاق