و الاهتمام و غيرهما و كذا الألفاظ المشتركة و المترادفة و لو وضع كل موضع الآخر لفات المعنى المقصود
and emphasis and the like; and likewise with shared and synonymous expressions: if one is put in the place of another, the intended meaning is lost. For this reason the Prophet said: May God have mercy on one who hears my words, memorises them, understands them, and conveys them to others. How many a man carries understanding while he himself is not a man of understanding, and how many a man carries understanding to one more understanding than himself! And this hadith is a true witness to our point.
وَ مِنْ ثَمَّ قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى اللّٰه عليه و آله نَضَّرَ اللَّهُ عَبْداً سَمِعَ مَقَالَتِي وَ حَفِظَهَا وَ وَعَاهَا وَ أَدَّاهَا فَرُبَّ حَامِلِ فِقْهٍ غَيْرُ فَقِيهٍ وَ رُبَّ حَامِلِ فِقْهٍ إِلَى مَنْ هُوَ أَفْقَهُ مِنْهُ.
And for this very reason the Prophet, may God bless him and his family, said: "May God make fresh and radiant a servant who heard my words and memorised them and kept them and conveyed them [to others]; how many a bearer of understanding is not himself a man of understanding, and how many a bearer of understanding conveys it to one more understanding than himself."
و كفی هذا الحديث شاهدا بصدق ذلك و أكثر الأصحاب جوزوا ذلك مطلقا مع حصول الشرائط المذكورة و قالوا كلما ذكرتم خارج عن موضوع البحث لأنا إنما جوزنا لمن يفهم الألفاظ و يعرف خواصها و مقاصدها و يعلم عدم اختلال المراد بها فيما أداه و قد ذهب جمهور السلف و الخلف من الطوائف كلها إلى جواز الرواية بالمعنى إذا قطع بأداء المعنى بعينه لأنه من المعلوم أن الصحابة و أصحاب الأئمة عليهم السلام لم يكونوا يكتبون الأحاديث عند سماعها و يبعد بل يستحيل عادة حفظهم جميع الألفاظ على ما هي عليه و قد سمعوها مرة واحدة خصوصا في الأحاديث الطويلة مع تطاول الأزمنة و لهذا كثيرا ما يروى عنهم المعنى الواحد بألفاظ مختلفة و لم ينكر ذلك عليهم و لا يبقى لمن تتبع الأخبار في هذا شبهة و يدل عليه أيضا
But most of our companions have held relating by sense to be permissible when the above conditions are met, and have said: what you mention is far from our point, since we hold it permissible only for one who understands the wording, grasps its properties and purposes, and knows that the intent of that wording is not disturbed in what he conveys. And the generality of scholars, past and present, of various groups, hold relating by sense permissible when one is certain of conveying the very same meaning; for it is known that the Companions of the Prophet, may God bless him and his family, and the companions of the infallible Imams, peace be upon them, did not write the hadiths down as they heard them, and it is far-fetched — indeed among the impossible — that they habitually memorised all the wordings of the hadiths just as they came. They would hear long hadiths once and relate them after a long time had passed; hence very often they related and transmitted with differing wordings, and no one denied relating by sense to them. For one who investigates the reports there is no room for doubt or uncertainty in this.
مَا رَوَاهُ الْكُلَيْنِيُّ ١عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ يَحْيَى عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ الْحُسَيْنِ عَنِ ابْنِ أَبِي عُمَيْرٍ عَنِ ابْنِ أُذَيْنَةَ عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ مُسْلِمٍ قَالَ: قُلْتُ لِأَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ عليه السلام أَسْمَعُ الْحَدِيثَ مِنْكَ فَأَزِيدُ وَ أَنْقُصُ قَالَ إِنْ كُنْتَ تُرِيدُ مَعَانِيَهُ فَلَا بَأْسَ.
The hadith that al-Kulayni related from Muhammad b. Muslim indicates this sense. He says: I said to Imam al-Sadiq, peace be upon him: I hear a hadith from you and add to it and subtract from it. He said: If you intend to convey its meaning there is no objection. And it is also related: Dawud b. Farqad says: I said to Imam al-Sadiq, peace be upon him: I hear a hadith from you and wish to relate it as I heard it from you, but I cannot. He said: Do you intend to lie against us? He said: No. He said: Do you intend to convey the meanings of the hadith? He said: Yes. He said: Then there is no objection.
وَ رَوَی أَيْضاً عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ يَحْيَى عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ الْحُسَيْنِ عَنِ ابْنِ سِنَانٍ عَنْ دَاوُدَ بْنِ فَرْقَدٍ قَالَ: قُلْتُ لِأَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ عليه السلام إِنِّي أَسْمَعُ الْكَلَامَ مِنْكَ فَأُرِيدُ أَنْ أَرْوِيَهُ كَمَا سَمِعْتُهُ مِنْكَ فَلَا يَجِي ءُ ذَلِكَ قَالَ فَتَتَعَمَّدُ ذَلِكَ قُلْتُ لَا قَالَ تُرِيدُ الْمَعَانِيَ قُلْتُ نَعَمْ قَالَ فَلَا بَأْسَ.
And he also related from Muhammad b. Yahya, from Muhammad b. al-Husayn, from Ibn Sinan, from Dawud b. Farqad, who said: I said to Imam al-Sadiq, peace be upon him: I hear a saying from you and wish to relate it just as I heard it from you, but it does not come out that way. He said: Do you do so deliberately? I said: No. He said: Do you intend the meanings? I said: Yes. He said: Then there is no objection.
نعم لا مرية في أن روايته بلفظه أولى على كل حال لا سيما في هذه الأزمان لبعد العهد و فوت القرائن و تغير المصطلحات.
Yes — there is no doubt that relating a hadith in its own wording is better in every case, especially in these times, since we are far removed from their age, the attendant circumstances are gone and the technical usages have changed. Al-Kulayni, with his own chain,
وَ قَدْ رَوَى الْكُلَيْنِيُّ عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنِ ابْنِ أَبِي عُمَيْرٍ عَنْ
related from Abu Basir, who says: