Submission of Intellect and its Excellence

Sign of Perfection of Intellect

Merit of Knowledge and the Scholar and the Obligation of Knowledge

Reward of the Scholar and the Seeker of Knowledge

Attributes of the Scholar

Asking the Scholar and Discussing with Him

Prohibition on Speaking without Knowledge and Ruling based on Opinion

Accountability of the Scholar and its Severity

Miscellaneous from the Book of Intellect and Knowledge‎

Transmitting the Narration Non-Verbatim

Prohibition of Blind Following

Regarding Innovation and Analogical Reasoning

Ruling of Everything is in the Book and the Sunna

Prohibition on Debate and Argumentation

Some of the Reasons for Differences in the Narrations

Fitting Response Appropriate to the Understanding of the Questioner and the Addressee

No Excuse for the Ignorant One who Falls Short

Narration that Contradicts the Qur’an

Prohibition of Giving Fatwa without Knowledge and Evidence

Everything has a Ruling in the Book and the Sunna

Permanence of the Halal and the Haram unto the Day of Judgment

What Can be Used to Infer some General Principles

Authoritativeness of the Book and the Sunna

Principle of Precaution

Authoritativeness of the Solitary Report of a Truthful Narrator

Principle of “Whomsoever it reaches …”

Necessity of Comparing the Hadith with the Qur’an

Judging Conflict between Narrations

Reasons for Differences between Narrations

Invalidation of Analogical Reasoning

Primary Doubts

Principle of Continuity

Legal Injunctions are Predicated on Pubescence

Principle of ’No Harm’

Ijtihad

Lapsing of both Injunctive and Declaratory Rulings in Cases of Necessity

Some Rulings which are Time-Bound

Precedence is Given to what has been Established by the Qur’an over the Sunna

One of the Reasons for Differences between Narrations

Principle of Impartiality

What has been Lifted from the Umma

Aban b. Taghlib

Ibrahim b. Abi Mahmud

Ibrahim b. Abda

Ahmad b. Hammad al-Marwazi and his son Muhammad

Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Abi Nasr al-Bazanti

Usama b. Zayd

Ishaq b. Ammar

Ismail b. Ja`far and Abdallah b. Sharik

Bazi`, al-Sarri, Bashshar and Bayan

Bukayr

al-Hakam, Salama, Kathir, Salim and Abu al-Miqdam

Abu Sasan, Ammar, Shatira and Abu Amra

Jabir b. Abdallah al-Ansari and Jabir b. Yazid al-Ju`fi

al-Ash`ath, Jarir and Simak

Ja`far b. Isa, Salih and Abu al-Asad

al-Harith b. al-Mughira

Hariz and Hudhayfa

Hasan al-Muthalath

Abu Ali b. Rashid and Ali b. al-Husayn b. Abd Rabbi

al-Hasan and al-Husayn the two sons of Zurara

al-Husayn b. Qayama

al-Husayn b. Mihran

al-Hakam b. Utayba

Hammad b. Isa

Humran b. A`yan

Hamza b. Bazi`

Hayyan al-Sarraj

Khuzayma b. Thabit

Khayran al-Khadim

Dawud b. Farqad and Harun b. Sa`d

Dharih b. Muhammad al-Muharibi

al-Rayyan b. al-Salt

Zurara b. A`yan

Zakariyya b. Sabur

Ziyad b. Marwan al-Qandi

Ziyad b. al-Mundhir Abu al-Jarud

Zayd b. Ali

Salim b. Mukram

Sukayn al-Nakhai

Simak b. Kharasha

Sahl b. Hunayf

Salih b. Muhammad b. Sahl

Sa`sa`a b. Suhan

Safwan b. Mihran al-Jammal

Safwan b. Yahya

Dhurays b. Abd al-Malik

A`sim b. Umar al-Bajali and Ka`b al-Ahbar

`Amir b. Wathila

`Abbad al-Basri

Abd al-Hamid b. Salim and Muhammad b. Ismail b. Bazi`

Abd al-Khaliq b. Abd Rabbi

Abdallah b. Abi Ya`fur

Abdallah b. al-Imam al-Sadiq

Abdallah b. Jundab

Abdallah b. al-Hasan b. al-Hasan al-Mujtaba

Abdallah b. Saba

Abdallah b. Shubruma

Abdallah b. Ajlan and Muyassir b. Abd al-Aziz

Abdallah b. Umayr al-Laythi

[-/1] الكافي: عن محمد بن عبدالله ومحمد بن يحيى جميعا، عن عبدالله بن جعفر الحميري قال: اجتمعت أنا والشيخ أبو عمرو رحمه الله عند أحمد بن إسحاق فغمزني أحمد بن إسحاق أن أسأله عن الخلف فقلت له: … وقد أخبرني أبوعلي أحمد بن إسحاق عن أبي الحسن عليه السلام قال: سألته وقلت: من اعامل أو عمن آخذ وقول من أقبل؟ فقال له: العمري ثقتي فما ادى إليك عني فعني يؤدي وما قال لك عني فعني يقول، فاسمع له وأطع، فإنه الثقة المأمون، وأخبرني أبوعلي أنه سأل ابا محمد عليه السلام عن مثل ذلك فقال له: العمري وابنه ثقتان، فما أديا إليك عني فعني يؤديان وما قالا لك فعني يقولان، فاسمع لهما وأطعمها فإنهما الثقتان المأمونان …

1. [1/-] al-Kafi: From Muhammad b. Abdallah and Muhammad b. Yahya both from Abdallah b. Ja’far al-Himyari who said: We gathered – me and the Shaykh Abu 'Amr (al-'Amri) – may Allah have mercy on him – at Ahmad bin Ishaq’s, then Ahmad b. Ishaq signaled me to ask him (al-'Amri) about the Remnant (al-Mahdi), so I said to him: … and Abu Ali Ahmad b. Ishaq has relayed to me on the authority of Abi al-Hasan (al-Naqi) (AS), saying: I asked him and said: "Whom do I emulate or from whom do I take? And whose words do I accept?" So he said to him: "Al-'Amri is my Thiqa (trustee), so what he gives you on my behalf then his giving is truly on my behalf, and what he says to you on my behalf then his saying is truly on my behalf, so listen to him and obey him, for he is both Thiqa (trustworthy) and reliable." And Abu Ali also informed me that he had asked Abu Muhammad (al-Askari) (AS) about the same matter, so he said to him: "Al-'Amri and his son are both trustees, so what they give to you on my behalf then their giving is truly on my behalf, and what they say to you on my behalf then their saying is truly on my behalf, so listen to them and obey them, for they are both Thiqa trustworthy and reliable…" 

[-/2] رجال الكشي: محمد بن قولويه عن سعد بن عبد الله، عن أحمد بن محمد بن عيسى، عن عبد الله بن محمد الحجال، عن يونس بن يعقوب قال: كنا عند أبي عبد الله عليه السلام فقال أما لكم من مفزع أما لكم من مستراح تستريحون إليه ما يمنعكم من الحارث بن المغيرة النصري

2. [2/-] Rijal al-Kashshi: Muhammad b. Qulawayh from Sa’d b. Abdallah from Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Isa from Abdallah b. Muhammad al-Hajjal from Yunus b. Ya’qub who said: we were at Aba Abdillah’s عليه السلام place when he said: do you not have a secure shelter? do you not have a comforter whom you can seek comfort in? what prevents you from [referring to] al-Harith bin al-Mughira al-Nasri. 

[-/3] رجال الكشي: محمد بن مسعود، عن محمد بن نصير، عن محمد بن عيسى، عن عبد العزيز ابن المهتدي قال: قلت لأبي الحسن الرضا عليه السلام: جعلت فداك لا أكاد أصل إليك لأسألك عن كل ما أحتاج إليه من معالم ديني، أفيونس بن عبد الرحمن ثقة آخذ عنه ما أحتاج إليه من معالم ديني فقال: نعم

3. [3/-] Rijal al-Kashshi: Muhammad b. Mas’ud from Muhammad b. Nusayr from Muhammad b. Isa from Abd al-Aziz b. al-Muhtadi who said: I said to Abi al-Hasan al-Ridha عليه السلام: may I be made your ransom, I cannot always reach you to ask you all that which I need from the teachings of my religion, is Yunus b. Abd al-Rahman Thiqa (trustworthy) and can I take from him what I need from the teachings of my religion? he said: yes. 

[-/4] رجال النجاشي: عن شيخنا المفيد في كتابه مصابيح النور: أخبرني ابن قولويه، عن علي بن الحسين بن بابويه، عن عبد الله بن جعفر، عن داود بن القاسم الجعفري قال: عرضت على أبي محمد صاحب العسكر عليه السلام كتاب يوم وليلة ليونس، فقال لي: تصنيف من هذا ؟ فقلت: تصنيف يونس مولى آل يقطين، فقال: أعطاه الله بكل حرف نورا يوم القيامة

4. [4/-] Rijal al-Najashi: From our Shaykh al-Mufid in his book “Masabih al-Nur”: reported to us Ibn Qulawayh from Ali b. al-Husayn b. Babawayh from Abdallah b. Ja’far from Dawud b. al-Qasim al-Ja’fari who said: I presented the book “Yawm wa Layla” of Yunus to Abi Muhammad al-Askari عليه السلام, so he said to me: who authored this? I said: it has been authored by Yunus the client of the family of Yaqtin, he said: may Allah give him for every letter a light on the day of judgment. 

[-/5] الكافي: عدة من أصحابنا، عن أحمد بن عيسى، عن أحمد بن محمد بن أبي نصر عن أبان بن عثمان، عن ابن أبي يعفور، عن أبي عبدالله عليه السلام أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله خطب الناس في مسجد الخيف فقال: نضر الله عبدا سمع مقالتي فوعاها وحفظها وبلغها من لم يسمعها، فرب حامل فقه غير فقيه ورب حامل فقه إلى من هو أفقه منه …

5. [5/-] al-Kafi: A number of our companions from Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Isa from Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Abi Nasr from Aban b. Uthman from Ibn Abi Ya’fur from Abi Abdillah (as) who said: the messenger of Allah (sw) gave a speech to the people in the Masjid of al-Khif and said: may Allah make radiant [the face of] a slave who hears my words and understands them and memorizes them and relays them to the one who did not hear them, for it may happen that a bearer of Fiqh is not a Faqih and it may happen that a bearer of Fiqh relays them to one who is more of a Faqih than him … 

[-/6] رجال الكشي: حمدويه بن نصير، عن يعقوب بن يزيد و محمد بن الحسين بن أبي الخطاب، عن محمد بن أبي عمير، عن إبراهيم بن عبد الحميد و غيره قالوا: قال أبو عبد الله عليه السلام رحم الله زرارة بن أعين لو لا زرارة و نظراؤه لاندرست أحاديث أبي عليه السلام

6. [6/-] Rijal al-Kashshi: Hamduwayh b. Nusayr from Ya’qub b. Yazid and Muhammad b. al-Husayn b. Abi al-Khattab from Muhammad b. Abi Umayr from Ibrahim b. Abd al-Hamid and others apart from him – they all said: Abu Abdillah عليه السلام said: may Allah have mercy on Zurara bin A’yan, if it was not for Zurara b. A’yan and his peers the narrations of my father would have perished. 

[-/7] عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه واله: من حفظ احاديثنا أربعين حديثا بعثه الله يوم القيامة عالما فقيها

7. [7/-] From the messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه واله who said: whoever preserves forty of our narrations Allah will raise him on the day of judgment as a scholar possessing understanding. 

[-/8] الكافي: علي بن إبراهيم، عن أبيه، عن ابن أبي عمير، عن عمر بن أذينة، عن إسماعيل بن الفضل الهاشمي، قال: سألت أبا عبد الله عليه السلام عن المتعة، فقال: إلق عبد الملك بن جريح فسله عنها فإن عنده منها علما، فلقيته فأملى علي منها شيئا كثيرا في استحلالها، فكان فيما روى لي ابن جريح، قال: ليس فيها وقت ولا عدد إنما هي بمنزلة الإماء يتزوج منهن كم شاء، وصاحب الأربع نسوة يتزوج منهن ما شاء بغير ولي ولا شهود، فإذا انقضى الاجل بانت منه بغير طلاق ويعطيها الشئ اليسير، وعدتها حيضتان، وإن كانت لا تحيض فخمسة وأربعون يوما، فأتيت بالكتاب أبا عبد الله عليه السلام فعرضت عليه، فقال: صدق وأقر به

8. [8/-] al-Kafi: Ali b. Ibrahim from his father from Ibn Abi Umayr from Umar b. Udhayna from Ismail b. al-Fadhl al-Hashimi who said: I asked Aba Abdillah عليه السلام about Mut’a so he said: go and see Abd al-Malik b. Jurayj and ask him about it for he has some knowledge about it, so I met him and he (Ibn Jurayj) dictated a lot of material in regards its permissibility to me, so from among that which Ibn Jurayj transmitted to me included: it (Mut’ah) has no fixed duration nor limit in number [of partners with whom you can contract], it has the same status as [union with] slave girls, a man marries with them as he likes, even someone who already has four wives can marry as many as he wishes, without [permission from] guardian required nor witnesses, so when the period terminates she departs from him without divorce, and he gives her some small thing [as her Mahr], and her Idda is two menstrual cycles, and if she does not menstruate then forty five days, so I came with the book to Aba Abdillah عليه السلام and presented its contents to him, so he said: he is truthful, and he agreed with it. 

[-/9] رجال الكشي: حمدويه، عن ابن يزيد، عن ابن أبي عمير، عن شعيب العقرقوفي قال: قلت لأبي عبد الله عليه السلام: ربما احتجنا أن نسأل عن الشئ فمن نسأل؟ قال: عليك بالأسدي – يعني أبا بصير

9. [9/-] Rijal al-Kashshi: Hamduwayh who said: narrated to us Ibn Yazid from Ibn Abi Umayr from Shuayb al-Aqraqufi who said: I said to Abi Abdillah عليه السلام: it may happen that we require to ask about something – so whom should we ask? he said: upon you is al-Asadi – meaning by it – Aba Basir.

[-/10] الكافي: عدة من أصحابنا، عن أحمد بن محمد، عن الحسن بن علي، عن وهيب بن حفص قال: كنا مع أبي بصير فأتاه عمرو بن إلياس فقال له: ياأبا محمد إن أخي بحلب بعث إلي بمال من الزكاة اقسمه بالكوفة فقطع عليه الطريق فهل عندك فيه رواية؟ فقال: نعم. سألت أبا جعفر عليه السلام عن هذه المسألة ولم أظن أن أحدا يسألني عنها أبدا فقلت لابي جعفر عليه السلام: جعلت فداك الرجل يبعث بزكاته من أرض إلى أرض فيقطع عليه الطريق فقال: قد أجزأت عنه ولو كنت أنا لاعدتها

10. [10/-] al-Kafi: A number of our companions from Ahmad b. Muhammad from al-Hasan b. Ali from Wuhayb b. Hafs who said: we were with Abi Basir when Amr b. Ilyas came and said to him: O Aba Muhammad (i.e. Abi Basir) my brother is in Halab (Aleppo), he sent me some wealth as Zakat so that I can distribute it in Kufa, but the road was cut-off on him [brigands stole it] – do you have a narration about this? he said: yes, I asked Aba Ja’far عليه السلام this question and I don’t think anyone else has asked me about it before, I said to Abi Ja’far عليه السلام: may I be made your ransom, a man sends his Zakat from one land to another but it is intercepted on the road, he said: he is excused but if it were me I would have repeated again [giving Zakat a second time]. 

[-/11] الفقيه: بإسناده عن ابراهيم بن هاشم ان محمد بن ابي عمير كان رجلا بزازا فذهب ماله وافتقره وكان له على رجل عشرة آلاف درهم فباع دارا له كان يسكنها بعشرة آلاف درهم وحمل المال إلى بابه فخرج اليه محمد بن ابي عمير فقال: ما هذا؟ فقال: هذا مالك الذي لك علي قال: ورثته؟ قال: لا قال: وهب لك؟ قال: لا قال: فهل هو ثمن ضيعة بعتها؟ قال: لا قال: فما هو؟ قال: بعت داري التي اسكنها لاقضي ديني فقال محمد بن ابي عمير: حدثني ذريح المحاربي عن ابي عبدالله (ع) انه قال: لا يخرج الرجل عن مسقط رأسه بالدين، ارفعها فلا حاجة لي فيها والله اني لمحتاج في وقتي هذا إلى درهم واحد وما يدخل ملكي منها درهم واحد

11. [11/-] al-Faqih: Via his chain from Ibrahim b. Hashim that: Muhammad b. Abi Umayr was a cloth merchant whose wealth perished and he fell into poverty, however he had loaned out ten thousand silver coins to someone, so the one he owed sold his house which he used to live in at a price of ten thousand silver coins and carried the whole sum to his (Ibn Abi Umayr’s) door, so Muhammad b. Abi Umayr came out to him and said: what is this? he said: this is your money which was due upon me, he said: you have inherited it? he said: no, he said: it has been gifted to you? he said: no, he said: is it the price of a land you have sold? He said: no, he said: then what is it? he said: I sold my house in which I live in so that I can repay my debt, so Muhammad b. Abi Umayr said: Dharih al-Muharibi narrated to me from Abi Abdillah that he said: a man is not driven out of his place of residence (his home) because of debt, take it away for I have no need of it, by Allah even though I do have a need of even a single silver coin at this time – I will not take a single one of them into my possession. 

[-/12] رجال الكشي: محمد بن قولويه، عن سعد، عن أحمد بن محمد بن عيسى، عن عبد الله الحجال، عن العلاء، عن ابن أبي يعفور قال: قلت لأبي عبد الله عليه السلام إنه ليس كل ساعة ألقاك و لا يمكن القدوم، و يجي‏ء الرجل من أصحابنا فيسألني و ليس عندي كلما يسألني عنه، قال فما يمنعك من محمد بن مسلم الثقفي فإنه قد سمع من أبي و كان عنده وجيها

12. [12/-] Rijal al-Kashshi: Muhammad b. Qulawayh from Sa’d from Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Isa from Abdallah al-Hajjal from al-Ala from Ibn Abi Abi Ya’fur who said: I said to Abi Abdillah عليه السلام – I am not with you at all times, and it is sometimes impossible to travel (i.e. to come to you from Kufah), and a man from among our companions comes and asks me – but I do not have everything regarding what he asks me about, he عليه السلام said: what prevents you from (going to) Muhammad bin Muslim al-Thaqafi – for he had heard from my father and had a most favorable position with him. 

[-/13] الكافي: حميد بن زياد عن ابن سماعة عن ابن رباط عن عيص بن القاسم عن ابى عبدالله عليه السلام قال: سألته عن رجل خير امرأته فاختارت نفسها بانت منه؟ قال: لا انما هذا شئ كان لرسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله خاصة امر بذلك ففعل، ولو اخترن انفسهن لطلقن وهو قول الله عزوجل: قُلْ لأزْوَاجِكَ إِنْ كُنْتُنَّ تُرِدْنَ الحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا وَزِينَتَهَا فَتَعَالَيْنَ أُمَتِّعْكُنَّ وَأُسَرِّحْكُنَّ سَرَاحًا جَمِيلا قال الحسن بن سماعة وبهذا الحديث نأخذ في الخيار

13. [13/-] al-Kafi: Humayd b. Ziyad from Ibn Sama’a from Ibn Ribat from Iys b. al-Qasim from Abi Abdillah عليه السلام, he (Iys) said: I asked him about a man who derogates to his wife the option to choose – so she chooses herself, will this mean that the divorce is final? he said: No, this (i.e. Takhyir) is a thing which was only for the messenger of Allah specifically, he was ordered to do that so he did it, and if they had chosen themselves then he would have divorced them – and it is the words of Allah Mighty and Majestic “Say to your wives: if you prefer the life of this world and its adornment then come forth so that I provide you a provision and set you free in a goodly manner” (33:28). al-Hasan b. Sama’a said: by this Hadith do we take [rule] in the matter of Khiyar [giving an ultimatum to the wife to decide her future]. 

[-/14] الكافي: علي بن إبراهيم، عن أبيه، عن ابن أبي عمير، عن جميل بن دراج قال: لا يجبر الرجل إلا على نفقة الابوين والولد، قال ابن أبي عمير: قلت لجميل: والمرأة؟ قال: قد روى عن عنبسة، عن أبي عبدالله عليه السلام قال: إذا كساها مايواري عورتها ويطعمها مايقيم صلبها أقامت معه وإلا طلقها

14. [14/-] al-Kafi: Ali b. Ibrahim from his father from Ibn Abi Umayr from Jamil b. Darraj who said: a man is not obliged to provide food except for the two parents and the children, Ibn Abi Umayr said: I said to Jamil: what about the wife? He said: it has been narrated from Anbasa from Abi Abdillah عليه السلام that he said: if he (the husband) clothes her with what covers her Awra [what should be covered] and if he feeds her what keeps her back straight then she remains with him otherwise he divorces her. 

Muʿjam al-Aḥādīth al-Muʿtabara

Book 2, Chapter 7