وَ يُفَسِّرُونَ الْقُرْآنَ بِآرَائِهِمْ قَالَ فَأَقْبَلَ عَلِيٌّ عليه السلام عَلَيَّ فَقَالَ قَدْ سَأَلْتَ فَافْهَمِ الْجَوَابَ إِنَّ فِي أَيْدِي النَّاسِ حَقّاً وَ بَاطِلًا وَ صِدْقاً وَ كَذِباً وَ نَاسِخاً وَ مَنْسُوخاً وَ عَامّاً وَ خَاصّاً وَ مُحْكَماً وَ مُتَشَابِهاً وَ حِفْظاً وَ وَهَماً وَ قَدْ كُذِبَ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى اللّٰه عليه و آله عَلَى عَهْدِهِ حَتَّى قَامَ خَطِيباً فَقَالَ أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ قَدْ كَثُرَتْ عَلَيَّ الْكَذَّابَةُ فَمَنْ كَذَبَ عَلَيَّ مُتَعَمِّداً فَلْيَتَبَوَّأْ مَقْعَدَهُ مِنَ النَّارِ ثُمَّ كُذِبَ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ إِنَّمَا أَتَاكُمُ الْحَدِيثُ مِنْ أَرْبَعَةٍ لَيْسَ لَهُمْ خَامِسٌ رَجُلٌ مُنَافِقٌ يُظْهِرُ الْإِيمَانَ مُتَصَنِّعٍ بِالْإِسْلَامِ لَا يَتَأَثَّمُ وَ لَا يَتَحَرَّجُ أَنْ يَكْذِبَ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى اللّٰه عليه و آله مُتَعَمِّداً فَلَوْ عَلِمَ النَّاسُ أَنَّهُ مُنَافِقٌ كَذَّابٌ لَمْ يَقْبَلُوا مِنْهُ وَ لَمْ يُصَدِّقُوهُ وَ لَكِنَّهُمْ قَالُوا هَذَا قَدْ صَحِبَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى اللّٰه عليه و آله وَ رَآهُ وَ سَمِعَ مِنْهُ فَأَخَذُوا مِنْهُ وَ هُمْ لَا يَعْرِفُونَ حَالَهُ وَ قَدْ أَخْبَرَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ عَنِ الْمُنَافِقِينَ بِمَا أَخْبَرَهُ وَ وَصَفَهُمْ بِمَا وَصَفَهُمْ فَقَالَ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ وَ إِذا رَأَيْتَهُمْ تُعْجِبُكَ أَجْسامُهُمْ وَ إِنْ يَقُولُوا تَسْمَعْ لِقَوْلِهِمْ ثُمَّ بَقُوا بَعْدَهُ فَتَقَرَّبُوا إِلَى أَئِمَّةِ الضَّلَالِ وَ الدُّعَاةِ إِلَى النَّارِ بِالزُّورِ وَ الْكَذِبِ وَ الْبُهْتَانِ فَوَلَّوْهُمُ الْأَعْمَالَ وَ حَمَلُوهُمْ عَلَى رِقَابِ النَّاسِ وَ أَكَلُوا مِنْهُمُ الدُّنْيَا ١وَ إِنَّمَا النَّاسُ مَعَ الْمُلُوكِ وَ الدُّنْيَا إِلَّا مَنْ عَصَمَ اللَّهُ فَهَذَا أَحَدُ الْأَرْبَعَةِ وَ رَجُلٌ سَمِعَ مِنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ شَيْئاً لَمْ يَحْفَظْهُ عَلَى وَجْهِهِ وَ وَهِمَ فِيهِ وَ لَمْ يَتَعَمَّدْ كَذِباً فَهُوَ فِي يَدِهِ يَقُولُ بِهِ وَ يَعْمَلُ بِهِ وَ يَرْوِيهِ وَ يَقُولُ أَنَا سَمِعْتُهُ مِنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى اللّٰه عليه و آله فَلَوْ عَلِمَ الْمُسْلِمُونَ أَنَّهُ وَهِمَ لَمْ يَقْبَلُوهُ وَ لَوْ عَلِمَ هُوَ أَنَّهُ وَهِمَ لَرَفَضَهُ وَ رَجُلٌ ثَالِثٌ سَمِعَ مِنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى اللّٰه عليه و آله شَيْئاً أَمَرَ بِهِ ثُمَّ نَهَى عَنْهُ وَ هُوَ لَا يَعْلَمُ أَوْ سَمِعَهُ يَنْهَى عَنْ شَيْ ءٍ ثُمَّ أَمَرَ بِهِ وَ هُوَ لَا يَعْلَمُ فَحَفِظَ مَنْسُوخَهُ وَ لَمْ يَحْفَظِ النَّاسِخَ فَلَوْ عَلِمَ أَنَّهُ مَنْسُوخٌ لَرَفَضَهُ وَ لَوْ عَلِمَ الْمُسْلِمُونَ أَنَّهُ مَنْسُوخٌ لَرَفَضُوهُ وَ آخَرُ رَابِعٌ لَمْ يَكْذِبْ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى اللّٰه عليه و آله مُبْغِضٌ لِلْكَذِبِ خَوْفاً مِنَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ وَ تَعْظِيماً لِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ لَمْ يَسْهُ٢ بَلْ حَفِظَ مَا سَمِعَ عَلَى وَجْهِهِ فَجَاءَ بِهِ كَمَا سَمِعَ لَمْ يَزِدْ فِيهِ وَ لَمْ يَنْقُصْ مِنْهُ وَ عَلِمَ النَّاسِخَ مِنَ الْمَنْسُوخِ فَعَمِلَ بِالنَّاسِخِ وَ رَفَضَ الْمَنْسُوخَ وَ إِنَّ أَمْرَ النَّبِيِّ صلى اللّٰه عليه و آله مِثْلُ الْقُرْآنِ نَاسِخٌ وَ مَنْسُوخٌ وَ خَاصٌّ وَ عَامٌّ وَ مُحْكَمٌ وَ مُتَشَابِهٌ وَ قَدْ كَانَ يَكُونُ مِنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى اللّٰه عليه و آله الْكَلَامُ لَهُ وَجْهَانِ وَ كَلَامٌ عَامٌّ وَ كَلَامٌ خَاصٌّ مِثْلُ الْقُرْآنِ وَ قَالَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ فِي كِتَابِهِ ما آتاكُمُ الرَّسُولُ فَخُذُوهُ وَ ما نَهاكُمْ عَنْهُ فَانْتَهُوا فَيَشْتَبِهُ عَلَى مَنْ لَمْ يَعْرِفْ وَ لَمْ يَدْرِ مَا عَنَى اللَّهُ بِهِ

Truly a hadith of the Prophet reaches you from four kinds of men who have no fifth. First, from a hypocritical man who makes a show of faith and puts on an outward display of Islam while inwardly he has no religion; he has no scruple at all about ascribing lies to the Messenger of God, may God bless him and his family. If people knew that he was a hypocrite and a liar they would not accept from him nor believe his word; but they say, this is a man who was with the Messenger of God, may God bless him and his family, and saw him and heard this hadith from him — so they receive his hadith and do not know his real state. God informed His Messenger of the hypocrites and described them as they deserved and said: "And when you see them, their bodies please you; and if they speak, you listen to their speech." These same hypocrites were among the Muslims after the Prophet, and they drew close to the leaders of misguidance and the callers to the Fire, and wove together vain speech, lies and slander in their favour, until they set them over great affairs and mounted them upon people's necks and through them devoured the world. Truly people follow the kings of this world, except one whom God preserves. This is one of the four. Second, a man who heard something from the Messenger of God, may God bless him and his family, but did not preserve it correctly; he does not intend to lie, but he has understood it wrongly. This mistaken wording is in his hands; he gives his opinion by it and acts by it and relates it and says: I heard it from the Messenger of God, may God bless him and his family. If the Muslims knew that he had understood it wrongly they would not accept it, and if he himself knew it was wrong he would abandon it. Third, one who heard that the Messenger of God, may God bless him and his family, gave an instruction and did not know that he afterwards forbade it, or heard that he forbade something and did not know that he afterwards gave an instruction about it; he keeps the abrogated ruling in mind and does not remember its abrogator. If he himself knew, he would abandon what had been abrogated; and if the Muslims too knew that it had been abrogated, they would abandon it. Fourth, one who has not ascribed lies to the Messenger of God, may God bless him and his family, and who out of fear of God and reverence for the Prophet is an enemy of lying; he does not forget, he has preserved correctly whatever he heard from the Messenger of God, may God bless him and his family, and he reports it just as he heard it, with nothing less and nothing more. He has distinguished the abrogator from the abrogated, acts upon the abrogator and leaves the abrogated. The Prophet's instructions too, like the verses of the Qur'an, have their abrogating and abrogated, their particular and general, their firm and ambiguous. The Messenger of God, may God bless him and his family, was accustomed to utter words bearing two senses, and his speech, like the Qur'an, had its general and particular. God, Mighty and Majestic, said in His Book: "Whatever the Messenger gives you, take it; and whatever he forbids you, abstain from it,"