This concept is rooted in Surah Al-Ma'idah (5:101), where the text advises believers not to ask about things that, if revealed to them, might cause them distress or unnecessary burden.
Historical-critical and traditional scholars explain that this warning was directed at trivial, pedantic, or speculative inquiries that could over-complicate religious obligations, much like the extensive questioning regarding the sacrificial cow in the biblical and Quranic narrative of the Israelites, rather than discouraging sincere, honest questions aimed at seeking knowledge and spiritual clarity.