المعارف و كنت أوافقه في كل ما يتكلم فيه و أفهم مراده قوله عليه السلام تأويلها و تفسيرها أي بطنها و ظهرها.

the divine sciences, I too was with him, and in everything he spoke of I agreed with him and understood his intent. "Ta'wiluha wa tafsiruha" means I grasped both its outward and its inward.

«14»- ع، علل الشرائع ن، عيون أخبار الرضا عليه السلام حَدَّثَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ الْبَرْقِيُّ وَ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ مُوسَی الْبَرْقِيُّ وَ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَلِیٍّ مَاجِيلَوَيْهِ وَ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَلِيِّ بْنِ هِشَامٍ وَ عَلِيُّ بْنُ عِيسَى الْمُجَاوِرُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ قَالُوا حَدَّثَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ مَاجِيلَوَيْهِ عَنْ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ خَالِدٍ عَنْ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ السَّيَّارِيِّ قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ أَسْبَاطٍ قَالَ: قُلْتُ لِلرِّضَا عليه السلام يَحْدُثُ الْأَمْرُ لَا أَجِدُ بُدّاً مِنْ مَعْرِفَتِهِ وَ لَيْسَ فِي الْبَلَدِ الَّذِي أَنَا فِيهِ أَحَدٌ أَسْتَفْتِيهِ مِنْ مَوَالِيكَ قَالَ فَقَالَ عليه السلام ائْتِ فَقِيهَ الْبَلَدِ فَاسْتَفْتِهِ فِي أَمْرِكَ فَإِذَا أَفْتَاكَ بِشَيْ ءٍ فَخُذْ بِخِلَافِهِ فَإِنَّ الْحَقَّ فِيهِ.

'Ilal al-Shara'i'; 'Uyun Akhbar al-Rida: 'Ali b. Ahmad related from 'Ali b. Asbat that he said: I said in the blessed presence of al-Imam al-Rida, peace be upon him: A matter befalls me whose ruling I must know, and there is no one in the town from among your friends of whom I may ask it — what is my duty? He said: Go to the jurist of the town (that is, a Sunni jurist) and ask him for a ruling; and when he gives a ruling on something, take the opposite of it, for the truth lies in the opposite of it.

بيان: لعله محمول على ما إذا كان عنده خبران لا يدري بأيهما يأخذ و إن كان بعيدا.

This hadith is to be taken as referring to a case in which that person had two reports and did not understand which of them to take — although this possibility is far-fetched.

«15»- ن، عيون أخبار الرضا عليه السلام أَبِي وَ ابْنُ الْوَلِيدِ عَنْ سَعْدٍ عَنِ الْمِسْمَعِيِّ عَنِ الْمِيثَمِيِّ أَنَّهُ سَأَلَ الرِّضَا عليه السلام يَوْماً وَ قَدِ اجْتَمَعَ عِنْدَهُ قَوْمٌ مِنْ أَصْحَابِهِ وَ قَدْ كَانُوا تَنَازَعُوا فِي الْحَدِيثَيْنِ الْمُخْتَلِفَيْنِ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى اللّٰه عليه و آله فِي الشَّيْ ءِ الْوَاحِدِ فَقَالَ عليه السلام إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ حَرَّمَ حَرَاماً وَ أَحَلَّ حَلَالًا وَ فَرَضَ فَرَائِضَ فَمَا جَاءَ فِي تَحْلِيلِ مَا حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ أَوْ تَحْرِيمِ مَا أَحَلَّ اللَّهُ أَوْ دَفْعِ فَرِيضَةٍ فِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ رَسْمُهَا بَيِّنٌ قَائِمٌ بِلَا نَاسِخٍ نَسَخَ ذَلِكَ فَذَلِكَ مَا لَا يَسَعُ الْأَخْذُ بِهِ لِأَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى اللّٰه عليه و آله لَمْ يَكُنْ لِيُحَرِّمَ مَا أَحَلَّ اللَّهُ وَ لَا لِيُحَلِّلَ مَا حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ وَ لَا لِيُغَيِّرَ فَرَائِضَ اللَّهِ وَ أَحْكَامَهُ كَانَ فِي ذَلِكَ كُلِّهِ مُتَّبِعاً مُسَلِّماً مُؤَدِّياً عَنِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ وَ ذَلِكَ قَوْلُ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ إِنْ أَتَّبِعُ إِلَّا ما يُوحى إِلَيَّ فَكَانَ صلى اللّٰه عليه و آله مُتَّبِعاً لِلَّهِ مُؤَدِّياً عَنِ اللَّهِ مَا أَمَرَهُ بِهِ مِنْ تَبْلِيغِ الرِّسَالَةِ قُلْتُ فَإِنَّهُ يَرِدُ عَنْكُمُ الْحَدِيثُ فِي الشَّيْ ءِ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى اللّٰه عليه و آله مِمَّا لَيْسَ فِي الْكِتَابِ وَ هُوَ فِي السُّنَّةِ ثُمَّ يَرِدُ خِلَافُهُ فَقَالَ وَ كَذَلِكَ قَدْ نَهَى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى اللّٰه عليه و آله عَنْ أَشْيَاءَ نَهْيَ حَرَامٍ فَوَافَقَ فِي ذَلِكَ نَهْيُهُ نَهْيَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَ أَمَرَ بِأَشْيَاءَ فَصَارَ ذَلِكَ الْأَمْرُ وَاجِباً لَازِماً كَعِدْلِ فَرَائِضِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَ وَافَقَ فِي ذَلِكَ أَمْرُهُ أَمْرَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ فَمَا جَاءَ فِي النَّهْيِ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى اللّٰه عليه و آله نَهْيَ حَرَامٍ ثُمَّ جَاءَ خِلَافُهُ لَمْ يَسَعِ اسْتِعْمَالُ ذَلِكَ وَ كَذَلِكَ فِيمَا أَمَرَ بِهِ لِأَنَّا لَا نُرَخِّصُ فِيمَا لَمْ يُرَخِّصْ فِيهِ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى اللّٰه عليه و آله وَ لَا نَأْمُرُ بِخِلَافِ مَا أَمَرَ

'Uyun Akhbar al-Rida: My father, Muhammad b. al-Husayn b. al-Walid, related by the above chain from Ahmad b. al-Maythami that one day, while a group of al-Imam al-Rida's companions were gathered around him discussing two conflicting hadiths that had come from the Messenger of God, may God bless him and his family, concerning the ruling on one and the same matter, they asked him about the point at issue. The Imam said: God, Mighty and Majestic, has made certain things unlawful and certain things lawful, and has made certain matters obligatory; and any narration that comes making lawful what God has made unlawful, or making unlawful what God has made lawful, or rejecting an obligation whose ruling is stated in the Book of God and whose proof is entirely clear in the Sunna and which has no abrogator to abrogate it — such narrations (that is, those definitively opposed) cannot be acted upon and it is not permissible to cling to them; for the Messenger of God, may God bless him and his family, was not such as to make God's lawful unlawful or God's unlawful lawful, or to alter (God forbid) the divine obligations and rulings. In all matters he was entirely a follower of revelation, submissive to the command and a conveyer from God; and this truth is the very word of the Lord, who says to him: Say to the people, "I follow only what is revealed to me." So the Messenger of God, may God bless him and his family, was a follower of God's command and conveyed from God the rulings and what God had commanded him. The narrator said: I said: Sometimes a ruling on a matter is related from the Messenger of God, may God bless him and his family, through you, the People of the House, which is not in the Book of God but is in the Sunna, and then a hadith contrary to it comes from you. He said: It is like that too; it may be that the Messenger of God, may God bless him and his family, forbade certain things and his prohibition is a prohibition of making unlawful, so that acting upon it is not permissible and it is like God's prohibition; and likewise he commanded certain matters and that command is obligatory and binding, like the commands of the Exalted Truth, and his command accords with the divine command and agrees with God's command. So every prohibition of making unlawful that issued from the Messenger of God, may God bless him and his family, and then something contrary to it was mentioned — acting upon that contrary narration is not permissible; and likewise in what he commanded, for we do not give leave for anything