The 365 · Verses · Day 79 · Knowledge
The Quran's foundational fiqh verse: not every Muslim has to specialize, but every community must have specialists.
Qur'an Q 9:122
۞ وَمَا كَانَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ لِيَنفِرُوا۟ كَآفَّةً ۚ فَلَوْلَا نَفَرَ مِن كُلِّ فِرْقَةٍ مِّنْهُمْ طَآئِفَةٌ لِّيَتَفَقَّهُوا۟ فِى ٱلدِّينِ وَلِيُنذِرُوا۟ قَوْمَهُمْ إِذَا رَجَعُوٓا۟ إِلَيْهِمْ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَحْذَرُونَ
“Yet it is not right for all the believers to go out [to battle] together: out of each community, a group should go out to gain understanding of the religion, so that they can teach their people when they return and so that they can guard themselves against evil. (Abdel Haleem)”
Svenska: Men alla troende bör inte gå ut i strid. Om några i varje grupp blir kvar kan de fördjupa sina kunskaper i religionen för att sedan [förmana och] varna de sina vid deras återkomst, [varna dem] att vara på sin vakt [mot det onda]. (Knut Bernström)
The story
Ibn Kathir reads this verse as the Quran's foundational text on the institution of fiqh-specialization. After commands earlier in Surat at-Tawbah for the believers to march for jihad, this verse balances the obligation: not all believers must march; a portion of each community must remain or specialize in religious learning, then teach their people when they return. Ibn Kathir cites Ibn 'Abbas, Mujahid, and Qatadah on three readings: (1) those who stayed with the Prophet ﷺ while others went to expeditions learned the revelation that descended in their absence and taught the returning soldiers, (2) those who went to expeditions learned and taught their tribes upon return, (3) some went to remote tribes to teach. All three readings establish the same principle: the Ummah needs a specialized class of fuqaha' (jurists who deeply understand the religion).
In the language
لِّيَتَفَقَّهُوا (li-yatafaqqahu) is the form V verb of f-q-h. Form V carries the meaning of effort to deeply absorb. Fiqh is therefore not just knowledge; it is deep absorption that becomes operational. The verb is at the heart of the Quran's vocabulary for religious specialization. The word fuqaha' (jurists) and the term al-faqih (the deeply learned) both come from this verb.
Why this verse
Q 9:122 is the foundational text on the institution of fiqh-specialization. Not every believer must be a scholar; some among each community must be. The verb yatafaqqahu is the root of the word fiqh.
Bring it into today
Identify the scholars, imams, and teachers your community depends on. Support them: financially, with attendance, with introducing them to others. Without the fuqaha', the community cannot function. The Quran named the principle; honor it.
A reflection to carry
The Quran is naming a structural principle: specialization is required. The Ummah cannot function with only laypeople; some among each community must specialize in fiqh, teach the rest, and warn against deviations. The verse therefore validates the entire institution of madhahib, of seminaries, of scholarly chains. The lay believer's responsibility is not to become a faqih; it is to support the institution and to ask the fuqaha' when in doubt (the principle of Day 80, Q 16:43).
Read the longer reflection
There is a structural debate the verse settled. In early Madinah, some believers thought all of them must go to every battle; others thought specialization was needed. The verse settled it: specialization. The same principle applies today to every modern Muslim community. Not every Muslim needs to be a scholar, an imam, a teacher. The community needs scholars, imams, and teachers, and the rest of the community supports them, learns from them, and follows their fatawa when out of their depth. The verse anchors this entire institutional structure.
Sources: Ibn Kathir. The Qur'an and its translation are verified; the scholarship is retold faithfully in our own words and credited to its sources, never reproduced verbatim.
A verse, a healing, and a Sunnah, every morning.
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