Those firmly rooted in knowledge
Encyclopedia
Those firmly rooted in knowledge is a recurring theme in the Qur'an and Sunnah
Qur'an and Sunnah
Qur'an and Sunnah is an often quoted Islamic term regarding the sources of Islam. Muslims hold that Islam is derived from two sources: one being infallible and containing compressed information — the Qur'an — and another being a detailed explanation of the everyday application of the principles...

. This term is of special interest for the Shi'a.

Sunni view

Sunni view that those firmly rooted in knowledge are the body of Muslim Jurists who interpret the Divine Law
Divine law
Divine law is any law that in the opinion of believers, comes directly from the will of God . Like natural law it is independent of the will of man, who cannot change it. However it may be revealed or not, so it may change in human perception in time through new revelation...

 , deriving the Islamic Jurisprudence
Jurisprudence
Jurisprudence is the theory and philosophy of law. Scholars of jurisprudence, or legal theorists , hope to obtain a deeper understanding of the nature of law, of legal reasoning, legal systems and of legal institutions...

 .

Ulema
Ulema
Ulama , also spelt ulema, refers to the educated class of Muslim legal scholars engaged in the several fields of Islamic studies. They are best known as the arbiters of shari‘a law...

is the plural of Alim
Alim
-Given name:* Amat Al Alim Alsoswa, Yemeni politician* Alim Ashirov, Soviet footballer* AFM Alim Chowdhury, Bangladeshi physician*Aleem Dar , Pakistani cricketer* Alim Karkayev, Russian footballer* Mohammed Alim Khan, last emir of the Manghit dynasty...

, Arabic for knowledgeable. This connects to the Arabic for knolwedge, ilm
Ilm (Arabic)
‘Ilm as an Islamic term refers to knowledge of Islam. The Qur'an is said to encourage the acquisition of knowledge. It explains the study and development of sciences during the Golden Age of Islam....

, the last word of this term: "al-rasikhuna fi 'l-'ilm"

Shi'a view

Shi'a view those firmly rooted in knowledge to be Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...

's household
Household
The household is "the basic residential unit in which economic production, consumption, inheritance, child rearing, and shelter are organized and carried out"; [the household] "may or may not be synonymous with family"....

 and himself . See Aale Imran, 7 for some hadith in this regard.

View from Nahj al-Balagha

"Know that the firmly rooted in knowledge (rasikhuna fil-ilm) are those who refrain from opening the curtains that lie against the unknown, and their acknowledgement of ignorance about the details of the hidden unknown prevents them from probing further. Allah has praised them for their admission that they are unable to get knowledge not allowed to them. They do not go deep ino the discussion of what is not enjoined upon them about knowing Him and it is this quality that Allah has called "Rusookh" (firmness)."

This portion, taken from a sermon of Imam Ali, makes it clear that in his view the rasikhuna fil-ilm are not grouped together with Allah in the Qur'an Aale Imran, 7 as pertains to the interpretation of the ambiguous verses of the Qur'an.
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