قَالَ سَمِعْتُ أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ عليه السلام يَقُولُ أَنْتُمْ أَفْقَهُ النَّاسِ إِذَا عَرَفْتُمْ مَعَانِيَ كَلَامِنَا إِنَّ الْكَلِمَةَ لَتَنْصَرِفُ عَلَى وُجُوهٍ فَلَوْ شَاءَ إِنْسَانٌ لَصَرَفَ كَلَامَهُ كَيْفَ شَاءَ وَ لَا يَكْذِبُ.

says: I heard Imam al-Sadiq, peace be upon him, say: You will be the most understanding of people in the rulings and manners of the sacred law when you grasp our purpose and intent in our words; for every sentence has several senses, and consequently anyone may put any statement in a way that causes no trouble and is not a lie.

«4»- مع، معاني الأخبار أَبِي عَنْ عَلِيٍّ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنِ الْيَقْطِينِيِّ عَنِ ابْنِ أَبِي عُمَيْرٍ عَنْ زَيْدٍ الزَّرَّادِ عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ عليه السلام قَالَ قَالَ أَبُو جَعْفَرٍ عليه السلام يَا بُنَيَّ اعْرِفْ مَنَازِلَ الشِّيعَةِ عَلَى قَدْرِ رِوَايَتِهِمْ وَ مَعْرِفَتِهِمْ فَإِنَّ الْمَعْرِفَةَ هِيَ الدِّرَايَةُ لِلرِّوَايَةِ وَ بِالدِّرَايَاتِ لِلرِّوَايَاتِ يَعْلُو الْمُؤْمِنُ إِلَى أَقْصَى دَرَجَاتِ الْإِيمَانِ إِنِّي نَظَرْتُ فِي كِتَابٍ لِعَلِيٍّ عليه السلام فَوَجَدْتُ فِي الْكِتَابِ أَنَّ قِيمَةَ كُلِّ امْرِئٍ وَ قَدْرَهُ مَعْرِفَتُهُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَبَارَكَ وَ تَعَالَى يُحَاسِبُ النَّاسَ عَلَى قَدْرِ مَا آتَاهُمْ مِنَ الْعُقُولِ فِي دَارِ الدُّنْيَا.

Ma'ani al-Akhbar: Burayd al-Zarrad related from Imam al-Sadiq, peace be upon him, that he said: [My father] Imam al-Baqir, peace be upon him, said to me: My son, gauge the degree of knowledge and understanding of the followers of 'Ali's school, peace be upon him, by how much of the words of the Infallibles, peace be upon them, they have learned and grasped and teach to others. For their knowledge of the words of the leaders of religion and their awareness through grasping the sayings of the Infallibles is what raises a believer to the highest peaks of faith. I was studying a book of 'Ali, peace be upon him, and found this phrase in it: The measure of every man's worth and rank is the extent of his awareness and knowledge; for God, blessed and exalted, when weighing a man's deeds, calls him to account for his conduct according to the intellect He gave him in this world.

كتاب زيد الزراد، عنه عليه السلام مثله.

Kitab Zayd al-Zarrad: The like of this hadith is related from him, peace be upon him.

«5»- مع، معاني الأخبار ابْنُ مَسْرُورٍ عَنِ ابْنِ عَامِرٍ عَنْ عَمِّهِ عَنِ ابْنِ أَبِي عُمَيْرٍ عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ الْكَرْخِيِّ عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ عليه السلام أَنَّهُ قَالَ: حَدِيثٌ تَدْرِيهِ خَيْرٌ مِنْ أَلْفٍ تَرْوِيهِ وَ لَا يَكُونُ الرَّجُلُ مِنْكُمْ فَقِيهاً حَتَّى يَعْرِفَ مَعَارِيضَ كَلَامِنَا وَ إِنَّ الْكَلِمَةَ مِنْ كَلَامِنَا لَتَنْصَرِفُ عَلَى سَبْعِينَ وَجْهاً لَنَا مِنْ جَمِيعِهَا الْمَخْرَجُ.

Ma'ani al-Akhbar: Ibrahim al-Karkhi related from Imam al-Sadiq, peace be upon him, that he said: One hadith, if you have fully understood it, is more valuable than a thousand reports that you relate to others (by rote); and none of you will be a jurist in religion until he grasps the opposing and varied senses of our words. Surely every sentence of our speech may be interpreted in seventy ways, from each of which a way out is open to us.

بيان: لعل المراد ما يصدر عنهم تقية و تورية و الأحكام التي تصدر عنهم لخصوص شخص لخصوصية لا تجرى في غيره فيتوهم لذلك تناف بين أخبارهم.

Elucidation: Perhaps what is meant is the hadiths that have come by way of dissimulation and double meaning, and the rulings issued by the infallible Imams, peace be upon them, for a particular person, which do not apply in other cases — and on this account it appears that there is disagreement among the reports of the Imams, peace be upon them.

«6»- مع، معاني الأخبار أَبِي عَنْ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ إِدْرِيسَ عَنِ الْحُسَيْنِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ عَنِ الْيَقْطِينِيِّ عَنْ بَعْضِ أَهْلِ الْمَدَائِنِ قَالَ: كَتَبْتُ إِلَى أَبِي مُحَمَّدٍ عليه السلام رُوِيَ لَنَا عَنْ آبَائِكُمْ عليهم السلام أَنَّ حَدِيثَكُمْ صَعْبٌ مُسْتَصْعَبٌ لَا يَحْتَمِلُهُ مَلَكٌ مُقَرَّبٌ وَ لَا نَبِيٌّ مُرْسَلٌ وَ لَا مُؤْمِنٌ امْتَحَنَ اللَّهُ قَلْبَهُ لِلْإِيمَانِ قَالَ فَجَاءَهُ الْجَوَابُ إِنَّمَا مَعْنَاهُ أَنَّ الْمَلَكَ لَا يَحْتَمِلُهُ فِي جَوْفِهِ حَتَّى يُخْرِجَهُ إِلَى مَلَكٍ مِثْلِهِ وَ لَا يَحْتَمِلُهُ نَبِيٌّ حَتَّى يُخْرِجَهُ إِلَى نَبِيٍّ مِثْلِهِ وَ لَا يَحْتَمِلُهُ مُؤْمِنٌ حَتَّى يُخْرِجَهُ إِلَى مُؤْمِنٍ مِثْلِهِ إِنَّمَا مَعْنَاهُ أَنْ لَا يَحْتَمِلَهُ فِي قَلْبِهِ مِنْ حَلَاوَةِ مَا هُوَ فِي صَدْرِهِ حَتَّى يُخْرِجَهُ إِلَى غَيْرِهِ.

Ma'ani al-Akhbar: Al-Yaqtini related from one of the people of al-Mada'in, who said: I wrote to Abu Muhammad, Imam al-Hasan al-'Askari, peace be upon him: It has been related to us from your noble forefathers, peace be upon them, that they said: Truly your hadith is hard and difficult, such that neither an angel brought near, nor a prophet sent with a mission, nor a believer whose heart God has tested for faith can bear it. He said: A reply came to him thus: Its meaning is that an angel does not keep it within himself until he presents it to an angel like himself; a prophet does not bear it until he conveys it to another prophet like himself; and a believer does not store it up until he gives it to another believer like himself — that is, he does not keep in his heart the sweetness of what is in his breast until he conveys it to another.

بيان: هذا الاحتمال غير الاحتمال الوارد في الأخبار الأخر و لذا لم يستثن فيه أحد.

Elucidation: This possibility is other than the possibility stated in the other reports, and for that reason no one is excepted in it.

«7»- مع، معاني الأخبار أَبِی عَنْ سَعْدٍ عَنِ الْبَرْقِيِّ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنِ ابْنِ سِنَانٍ ١ عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ بْنِ

Ma'ani al-Akhbar: