«30»- سن، المحاسن ابْنُ فَضَّالٍ عَنِ ابْنِ بُكَيْرٍ عَنْ عُبَيْدِ بْنِ زُرَارَةَ عَنْ رَجُلٍ لَمْ يُسَمِّهِ أَنَّهُ سَأَلَ أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ عليه السلام رَجُلَانِ تَدَارَءَا فِي شَيْ ءٍ فَقَالَ أَحَدُهُمَا أَشْهَدُ أَنَّ هَذَا كَذَا وَ كَذَا بِرَأْيِهِ فَوَافَقَ الْحَقَّ وَ كَفَّ الْآخَرُ فَقَالَ الْقَوْلُ قَوْلُ الْعُلَمَاءِ فَقَالَ هَذَا أَفْضَلُ الرَّجُلَيْنِ أَوْ قَالَ أَوْرَعُهُمَا.
Al-Mahasin: 'Ubayd b. Zurara relates from a man that Imam al-Sadiq, peace be upon him, said concerning two men who argue about something, each defending his own view — one of them says on the basis of his own opinion: I bear witness that the matter is thus, and his opinion also turns out to accord with the truth, while the other refrains from giving his view and says: The words of the scholars are sound — he said: This second man is better than the first; or he said: he is the more God-fearing of the two.
بيان: قال الجوهري تدارءوا تدافعوا في الخصومة.
Elucidation: Al-Jawhari said: "tadara'u" means they pressed and bore hard upon one another in dispute.
«31»- سن، المحاسن أَبِي عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ سِنَانٍ عَنِ ابْنِ بُكَيْرٍ عَنْ زُرَارَةَ عَنْ أَبِي جَعْفَرٍ عليه السلام قَالَ: لَوْ أَنَّ الْعِبَادَ إِذَا جَهِلُوا وَقَفُوا لَمْ يَجْحَدُوا وَ لَمْ يَكْفُرُوا.
Al-Mahasin: Zurara relates from Imam al-Baqir, peace be upon him, that he said: When the servants are ignorant, if they refrain from expressing an opinion they do not deny [the truth] and so do not fall into unbelief.
«32»- سن، المحاسن أَبِي عَمَّنْ حَدَّثَهُ رَفَعَهُ إِلَى أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ عليه السلام قَالَ: إِنَّهُ لَا يَسَعُكُمْ فِيمَا يَنْزِلُ بِكُمْ مِمَّا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ إِلَّا الْكَفُّ عَنْهُ وَ التَّثَبُّتُ فِيهِ وَ الرَّدُّ إِلَى أَئِمَّةِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ حَتَّى يُعَرِّفُوكُمْ فِيهِ الْحَقَّ وَ يَحْمِلُوكُمْ فِيهِ عَلَى الْقَصْدِ قَالَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ فَسْئَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ لا تَعْلَمُونَ
Al-Mahasin: Imam al-Sadiq, peace be upon him, said: Concerning what you do not know, if you pause and refrain from expressing an opinion you will be at ease; present such matters to the rightful Imams, who will make the truth known to you and guide you to the straight path. Then he recited the verse "So ask the people of the Reminder if you do not know."
«33»- سن، المحاسن ابْنُ فَضَّالٍ عَنِ ابْنِ بُكَيْرٍ عَنْ حَمْزَةَ بْنِ الطَّيَّارِ أَنَّهُ عَرَضَ عَلَى أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ عليه السلام بَعْضَ خُطَبِ أَبِيهِ حَتَّى إِذَا بَلَغَ مَوْضِعاً مِنْهَا قَالَ لَهُ كُفَّ قَالَ أَبُو عَبْدِ اللَّهِ عليه السلام اكْتُبْ فَأَمْلَى عَلَيْهِ أَنَّهُ لَا يَنْفَعُكُمْ فِيمَا يَنْزِلُ بِكُمْ مِمَّا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ إِلَّا الْكَفُّ عَنْهُ وَ التَّثَبُّتُ فِيهِ وَ رَدُّهُ إِلَى أَئِمَّةِ الْهُدَى حَتَّى يَحْمِلُوكُمْ فِيهِ عَلَى الْقَصْدِ.
Al-Mahasin: It is related from Hamza b. al-Tayyar that he presented some of the sermons of Imam al-Baqir, peace be upon him, to Imam al-Sadiq, peace be upon him, until he reached a place where the Imam said: Be silent. And he said: Write. Then he dictated to him: In what you do not know, only silence profits you; and pause and present it to the Imams of guidance, that they may guide you to the straight path.
بيان: الأمر بالكف و السكوت إما لأن من عرض الخطبة فسر هذا الموضع برأيه و أخطأ أو لأنه كان في هذا الموضع غموض و لم يتثبت عنده و لم يطلب تفسيره أو لأنه عليه السلام أراد إنشاء ذلك فاستعجل لشدة الاهتمام.
Elucidation: The command to hold back and keep silent is either because the one presenting the sermon explained this passage by his own opinion and erred, or because in that part of the sermon there were difficulties and hard places which were not established with the narrator and whose explanation he had not sought; or because the Imam, peace be upon him, wished the sermon to be recited correctly while the narrator was hasty, and because of the Imam's great concern, peace be upon him, he gave such a command.
«34»- مص، مصباح الشريعة قَالَ الصَّادِقُ عليه السلام لَا تَحِلُّ الْفُتْيَا لِمَنْ لَا يَسْتَفْتِي مِنَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ بِصَفَاءِ سِرِّهِ وَ إِخْلَاصِ عَمَلِهِ وَ عَلَانِيَتِهِ وَ بُرْهَانٍ مِنْ رَبِّهِ فِي كُلِّ حَالٍ لِأَنَّ مَنْ أَفْتَى فَقَدْ حَكَمَ وَ الْحُكْمُ لَا يَصِحُّ إِلَّا بِإِذْنٍ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَ بُرْهَانِهِ وَ مَنْ حَكَمَ بِالْخَبَرِ بِلَا مُعَايَنَةٍ فَهُوَ جَاهِلٌ مَأْخُوذٌ بِجَهْلِهِ مَأْثُومٌ بِحُكْمِهِ قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى اللّٰه عليه و آله أَجْرَؤُكُمْ بِالْفُتْيَا أَجْرَؤُكُمْ عَلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ أَ وَ لَا يَعْلَمُ الْمُفْتِي أَنَّهُ هُوَ الَّذِي يَدْخُلُ بَيْنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَ بَيْنَ عِبَادِهِ وَ هُوَ الْحَاجِزُ بَيْنَ الْجَنَّةِ وَ النَّارِ ١.
Misbah al-Shari'a: Imam al-Sadiq, peace be upon him, said: Giving rulings on matters of the lawful and the unlawful is not permissible for one who does not seek his rulings from God, mighty and exalted, with purity of inward state, sincerity of outward deed, and a proof from his Lord in every case; for one who gives a ruling issues a judgement, and judgement is not permissible save by God's leave and His proof. And one who gives a ruling on a hadith without knowing that hadith's meaning, the occasion of its issuing, and how to reconcile it with other hadiths, is ignorant, and he will be questioned about his ignorance, and his judging is a sin. The Messenger of God, may God bless him and his family, said: The boldest of you in giving rulings is the boldest of you against God, mighty and exalted. Does the one who gives rulings not know that he has placed himself between God and His servants, and has become a veil between Paradise and Hell?