الْحَدِيثَانِ الْمُخْتَلِفَانِ فَقِسْهُمَا عَلَى كِتَابِ اللَّهِ وَ عَلَی أَحَادِيثِنَا فَإِنْ أَشْبَهَهُمَا فَهُوَ حَقٌّ وَ إِنْ لَمْ يُشْبِهْهُمَا فَهُوَ بَاطِلٌ.

differing hadiths reach you from us, then set them against the Book of God and the practice of the Prophet, may God bless him and his family.

«53»- سر، السرائر مِنْ جَامِعِ الْبَزَنْطِيِّ عَنِ الرِّضَا عليه السلام قَالَ: عَلَيْنَا إِلْقَاءُ الْأُصُولِ إِلَيْكُمْ وَ عَلَيْكُمُ التَّفَرُّعُ.

Al-Sara'ir: Al-Imam al-Rida, peace be upon him, said: It is our duty to state the general principles to you, and it is your duty to derive the branches from them (to apply the general rules to particular instances).

«54»- سر، السرائر مِنْ جَامِعِ الْبَزَنْطِيِّ عَنْ هِشَامِ بْنِ سَالِمٍ عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ عليه السلام قَالَ: إِنَّمَا عَلَيْنَا أَنْ نُلْقِيَ إِلَيْكُمُ الْأُصُولَ وَ عَلَيْكُمْ أَنْ تُفَرِّعُوا.

Al-Sara'ir: Hisham b. Salim from Imam al-Sadiq, peace be upon him, said: It is our duty to state the general principles to you, and it is your duty to derive the branches from them (to apply the general rules to particular instances).

غو، غوالي اللئالي روی زرارة و أبو بصير عن الباقر و الصادق عليهما السلام مثله بيان يدل على جواز استنباط الأحكام من العمومات.

'Awali al-La'ali: Zurara and Abu Basir related the like of it from al-Baqir and al-Sadiq, peace be upon them. The above hadiths indicate the derivation of rulings from general statements.

«55»- سر، السرائر مِنْ كِتَابِ الْمَسَائِلِ مِنْ مَسَائِلِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عَلِيِّ بْنِ عِيسَى حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ زِيَادٍ وَ مُوسَی بْنُ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عَلِيِّ بْنِ مُوسَى قَالَ: كَتَبْتُ إِلَى أَبِي الْحَسَنِ عليه السلام أَسْأَلُهُ عَنِ الْعِلْمِ الْمَنْقُولِ إِلَيْنَا عَنْ آبَائِكَ وَ أَجْدَادِكَ صَلَوَاتُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْهِمْ قَدِ اخْتُلِفَ عَلَيْنَا فِيهِ فَكَيْفَ الْعَمَلُ بِهِ عَلَى اخْتِلَافِهِ وَ الرَّدُّ إِلَيْكَ فِيمَا اخْتُلِفَ فِيهِ فَكَتَبَ عليه السلام مَا عَلِمْتُمْ أَنَّهُ قَوْلُنَا فَالْزَمُوهُ وَ مَا لَمْ تَعْلَمُوهُ فَرُدُّوهُ إِلَيْنَا.

Al-Sara'ir: Musa b. Muhammad says: I wrote a letter to al-Imam al-Hadi, peace be upon him, and asked him about the knowledge transmitted to us from his noble fathers which has come to us in differing forms: how, with the differences it has, are we to act upon it, and how are we to refer the differing cases back to you? He wrote: The hadith which you know to be our word, hold fast to it; and that which you do not know, refer back to us.

بيان: ظاهره عدم جواز العمل بالأخبار التي هي مظنونة الصدور عن المعصوم لكنه بظاهره مختص بالأخبار المختلفة فيجمع بينه و بين خبر التخيير بما مر على أن إطلاق العلم على ما يعم الظن شائع و عمل أصحاب الأئمة عليهم السلام على أخبار الآحاد التي لا تفيد العلم في أعصارهم متواتر بالمعنى لا يمكن إنكاره ١.

The apparent sense of the hadith is that acting upon hadiths whose issuance from the Infallible is only probable is not permissible; but this hadith is confined to differing reports, in which case it is reconciled with the reports of option that came earlier — given that "knowledge" is often applied so as to include probability, and that the practice of the Imams' companions of acting upon single reports which did not yield certain knowledge is successively transmitted in substance, so that its denial is impossible.

«56»- نهج، نهج البلاغة مِنْ وَصِيَّتِهِ عليه السلام لِابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ لَمَّا بَعَثَهُ لِلِاحْتِجَاجِ عَلَى الْخَوَارِجِ لَا تُخَاصِمْهُمْ بِالْقُرْآنِ فَإِنَّ الْقُرْآنَ حَمَّالٌ ذُو وُجُوهٍ تَقُولُ وَ يَقُولُونَ وَ لَكِنْ حَاجِّهِمْ بِالسُّنَّةِ فَإِنَّهُمْ لَنْ يَجِدُوا عَنْهَا مَحِيصاً.

Nahj al-Balagha: From the counsel of 'Ali, peace be upon him, to Ibn 'Abbas when he sent him to argue with the Kharijites, he said: Do not dispute with them by the Qur'an, for the Qur'an bears several possibilities; you will say and they too will say. Rather argue with them by the practice of the Prophet, may God bless him and his family, for from the practice of the Prophet, may God bless him and his family, they have no way of escape.

«57»- غو، غوالي اللئالي رَوَى الْعَلَّامَةُ قُدِّسَتْ نَفْسُهُ مَرْفُوعاً إِلَى زُرَارَةَ بْنِ أَعْيَنَ قَالَ: سَأَلْتُ الْبَاقِرَ عليه السلام فَقُلْتُ جُعِلْتُ فِدَاكَ يَأْتِي عَنْكُمُ الْخَبَرَانِ أَوِ الْحَدِيثَانِ الْمُتَعَارِضَانِ فَبِأَيِّهِمَا آخُذُ فَقَالَ عليه السلام يَا زُرَارَةُ خُذْ بِمَا اشْتَهَرَ بَيْنَ أَصْحَابِكَ وَ دَعِ الشَّاذَّ النَّادِرَ فَقُلْتُ يَا

'Awali al-La'ali: Zurara related from Imam al-Baqir, peace be upon him: I said to the Imam: May I be your ransom! I have two conflicting reports or hadiths from you — which shall I act upon? He said: Act upon the hadith well known among the companions and leave the one that is not well known. I said: