و قد قيل إن تدوين الحديث من المستحدثات في المائة الثانية من الهجرة و قيل المراد الحراسة عن الاندراس بما يعم الحفظ عن ظهر القلب و الكتابة و النقل من الناس و لو من كتاب و أمثال ذلك و قيل المراد تحمله على أحد الوجوه المقررة التي سيأتي ذكرها في باب آداب الرواية و الحق أن للحفظ مراتب يختلف الثواب بحسبها فأحدها حفظ لفظها سواء كان في الخاطر أو في الدفاتر و تصحيح لفظها و استجازتها و إجازتها و روايتها و ثانيها حفظ معانيها و التفكر في دقائقها و استنباط الحكم و المعارف منها و ثالثها حفظها بالعمل بها و الاعتناء بشأنها و الاتعاظ بمودعها و يومئ إليه خبر السكوني ١ و في رواية من حفظ على أمتي ٢ الظاهر أن على بمعنى اللام أي حفظ لأجلهم كما قالوه في قوله وَ لِتُكَبِّرُوا اللَّهَ عَلى ما هَداكُمْ أي لأجل هدايته إياكم و يحتمل أن يكون بمعنى من كما قيل في قوله تعالى إِذَا اكْتالُوا عَلَى النَّاسِ يَسْتَوْفُونَ و يؤيده رواية المروزي ٣ و أضرابها و الحديث في اللغة يرادف الكلام سمي به لأنه يحدث شيئا فشيئا و في اصطلاح عامة المحدثين كلام خاص منقول عن النبي أو الإمام أو الصحابي أو التابعي ٤ أو من يحذو حذوه يحكي قولهم أو فعلهم أو تقريرهم و عند أكثر محدثي الإمامية لا يطلق اسم الحديث إلا على ما كان عن المعصوم عليه السلام و ظاهر أكثر الأخبار تخصيص الأربعين بما يتعلق بأمور الدين من أصول العقائد و العبادات القلبية و البدنية لا ما يعمها و سائر المسائل من المعاملات و الأحكام بل يظهر من بعضها كون تلك الأربعين جامعة لأمهات العقائد و العبادات و الخصال الكريمة و الأفعال الحسنة فيكون المراد ببعثه فقيها عالما أن يوفقه اللّٰه لأن يصير بالتدبر في هذه الأحاديث و العمل بها لله من الفقهاء العالمين العاملين و علی سائر الاحتمالات يكون

It is said that the recording of hadith is among the innovations that appeared in the second century of the Hijra. It is said: what is meant by preserving hadith is guarding it from decay and loss — a sense that is general and includes learning by heart, writing down, and transmitting to people from a book and the like. It is said: what is meant is receiving the hadith by one of the recognised methods, which will come in the chapter on the etiquette of relating hadith. The truth of the matter is that preserving has degrees, and its reward differs accordingly. One of them is preserving the wording of hadiths, whether in memories or in notebooks, and correcting hadiths, seeking licences for hadiths, granting licences, and relating hadiths. The second: preserving the meanings of hadiths, reflecting upon their subtleties, and deriving rulings and knowledge from them. The third: preserving hadiths by acting upon them, regarding their standing, and taking admonition from their contents. To this meaning the third report points in the narration "man hafiza 'ala ummati", where apparently "'ala" is in the sense of the lam — that is, whoever preserves forty hadiths for the sake of my community — just as in this verse "'ala" comes in the sense of the lam: "And that you may magnify God for having guided you", that is, for your guidance. And it may be that "'ala" is in the sense of "min", as in the noble verse: "who, when they take measure from people, take it in full". This meaning is supported by al-Marwazi's narration and the like. "Hadith" in the language is synonymous with speech, and the reason for the name is that a fresh matter is obtained one after another; and in the usage of most hadith scholars it is a particular kind of speech related from the Prophet, an Imam, a Companion, a Successor, or those who follow them, reporting their word, act or tacit approval. According to most Imami hadith scholars, "hadith" is applied only to what has come from an Infallible, peace be upon him. The apparent sense of most of the "forty" reports is that the forty hadiths are confined to matters of religion, that is, the principles of belief and the acts of worship of heart and body, and not more general than that so as to include transactions and rulings; rather it is gathered from the hadiths that the forty hadiths comprehend the fundamental beliefs, the acts of worship, the noble traits and the praiseworthy deeds. So what is meant by his being raised up as a learned jurist is that God grants him success, through reflecting upon those hadiths and acting upon them for God's good pleasure, to become one of the learned jurists who act. On the other possibilities,