It says in the ‘Ask the ahl aldhikr (those who know) if you do not know’ (16.43; see also 21.7). Who are the ahl al-dhikr? This verse instructs the Muslims to refer to the people who know in all things which perplex them so that they may discern the path to the truth, because God, having taught them, has nominated them for that particular purpose. Their knowledge is deeply rooted and they know how to interpret the This verse could have been revealed to introduce the family of the (Prophet’s) house, the ahl al-bayt. They are the Prophet Muhammad, Fatima, Hasan and Husayn, and possibly their successors. There are traditions accepted within the school to that effect. The meaning of the aya suggests to some that the ahl al-dhikr refers to the people of the book, i.e. Jews and Christians. But the has mentioned in a number of verses that they altered the Word of God (tahrif) and they wrote their religious books themselves, claiming that it was from God. It also refers to their lies and turning the truth upside down. Given this state of affairs, it is unlikely that the instructed the Muslims to refer to them on issues about which the Muslims themselves are confused.
Al-Bukhari has reported in his Sahih collection of traditions in ‘The Book of Testimony’ under the heading ‘The ahl al-shirk (polytheists) are not to be asked’ (Vol.
3:163): ‘The Prophet said: “Do not believe the people of the book and do not consider them as liars but say: ‘We believe in God and what was revealed.’” This means we should not refer questions to them, rather, we should abandon and ignore them because the command not to believe them or to consider them as liars would remove the point of asking them, i.e., awaiting the right reply. Al-Bukhari has reported in his Sahih in ‘The Book of Unity’ (Vol. 8:208) that Ibn said: ‘O Muslims! How come you ask the people of the scriptures, although your book which was revealed to his Prophet has the most recent information from Allah and you recite it, a book which has not been distorted? Allah has revealed to you that the people of the scriptures have changed with their own hands what was revealed to them and they have said: “This is from Allah” in order to get some worldly benefit thereby.’ Ibn added: ‘Isn’t the knowledge revealed to you sufficient to prevent you from asking them? By Allah, I have never seen any one of them asking [Muslims] about what has been revealed to you.’
Among the People of the Book, the Christians claim that Jesus is God while the Jews will not accept him even as a prophet. Both of them criticize Islam and the Prophet and call him a liar. Bearing this in mind, it is highly unlikely that God would command us to ask them if we accept that the ahl al-dhikr from the apparent meaning of the verse refers to the People of the Book, i.e. the Jews and Christians. More plausible is that God granted knowledge of the Book on those spiritual and intellectual leaders whom he has chosen so that people can refer to them in trying to understand those points of the that are less clear than others. From a point of view, the experts here are the imams. God wished the people to submit to this elite group, and so he chose them and taught them the knowledge of the book. As a result the leadership of the community was improved and the affairs of the people organized efficiently. Whether this interpretation of the verse is satisfactory or not, it is certainly true that the idea that the Jews and Christians would be asked to decide on difficult issues in a religious book not their own seems highly improbable. There is also a plausible Sunni interpretation in terms of the ahl al-dhikr being the leading (scholars) and legal authorities (fuqaha’), or any other group in which they placed confidence in religious matters.
‘Ask the 
This verse could have been revealed to introduce the family of the (Prophet’s) house, the 
Fatima, Hasan and Husayn, and possibly their successors. There are traditions accepted within the 
school to that effect. The meaning of the 
has mentioned in a number of verses that they altered the Word of God (tahrif) and they wrote their religious books themselves, claiming that it was from God. It also refers to their lies and turning the truth upside down. Given this state of affairs, it is unlikely that the 
instructed the Muslims to refer to them on issues about which the Muslims themselves are confused.
said: ‘O Muslims! How come you ask the people of the scriptures, although your book which was revealed to his Prophet has the most recent information from Allah and you recite it, a book which has not been distorted? Allah has revealed to you that the people of the scriptures have changed with their own hands what was revealed to them and they have said: “This is from Allah” in order to get some worldly benefit thereby.’ Ibn 
added: ‘Isn’t the knowledge revealed to you sufficient to prevent you from asking them? By Allah, I have never seen any one of them asking [Muslims] about what has been revealed to you.’
that are less clear than others. From a 
point of view, the experts here are the imams. God wished the people to submit to this elite group, and so he chose them and taught them the knowledge of the book. As a result the leadership of the community was improved and the affairs of the people organized efficiently. Whether this interpretation of the verse is satisfactory or not, it is certainly true that the idea that the Jews and Christians would be asked to decide on difficult issues in a religious book not their own seems highly improbable. There is also a plausible Sunni interpretation in terms of the 
(scholars) and legal authorities (fuqaha’), or any other group in which they placed confidence in religious matters.
