الحقيقة بذلك المستند الضعيف بل بالأخبار الكثيرة التي بعضها صحيح.

Answer: The ruling of recommendation, in a case where the evidence for that ruling is weak, is in reality not on account of that weak evidence, but on account of many reports, some of which are sound.

و الثاني تلك الروايات لا تشمل العمل الوارد في خبر ضعيف من غير ذكر ثواب فيه و الجواب أن الأمر بشي ء من العبادات يستلزم ترتب الثواب على فعله و الخبر يدل على ترتب الثواب التزاما و هذا يكفي في شمول تلك الأخبار له و فيه نظر.

Second: These narrations of chapter 30 do not include a deed that comes in a weak report without any mention of a reward in it. Answer: A command to one of the acts of worship entails the accruing of reward upon its performance, and the report too indicates the accruing of the reward that is its necessary concomitant; this much suffices for those reports to include the command to acts of worship. In this answer there is a difficulty. Third: Just as there is reward for the recommended, so there is reward for the obligatory; so why have the scholars confined the ruling to the recommended? Answer: The scholars' purpose and aim is that these narrations establish nothing but the accruing of reward upon a deed concerning which a report has come. And it indicates the accruing of reward in it, not that one is punished in case of leaving it — even if, on account of the report's falling short of establishing that ruling, this matter is explicitly stated in the report; and those

و الثالث أن الثواب كما يكون للمستحب كذلك يكون للواجب فلم خصصوا الحكم بالمستحب و الجواب أن غرضهم أن بتلك الروايات لا تثبت إلا ترتب الثواب على فعل ورد فيه خبر يدل على ترتب الثواب عليه لا أنه يعاقب على تركه و إن صرح في الخبر بذلك لقصوره من إثبات ذلك الحكم و تلك الروايات لا تدل عليه فالحكم الثابت لنا من هذا الخبر بانضمام تلك الروايات ليس إلا الحكم الاستحبابي.

narrations give no indication of this matter. So the ruling established for us from this report together with those narrations is nothing but a ruling of recommendation.

و الرابع أن بين تلك الروايات و بين ما يدل على عدم العمل بقول الفاسق من قوله تعالى إِنْ جاءَكُمْ فاسِقٌ بِنَبَإٍ فَتَبَيَّنُوا عموما من وجه فلا ترجيح لتخصيص الثاني بالأول بل العكس أولى لقطعية سنده و تأيده بالأصل إذ الأصل عدم التكليف و براءة الذمة منه و يمكن أن يجاب بأن الآية تدل على عدم العمل بقول الفاسق بدون التثبت و العمل به فيما نحن فيه بعد ورود الروايات ليس عملا بلا تثبت فلم تخصص الآية بالأخبار بل بسبب ورودها خرجت تلك الأخبار الضعيفة عن عنوان الحكم المثبت في الآية الكريمة.

Fourth: Between these narrations and what indicates the non-acceptance of the word of a transgressor — that is, the Qur'anic verse "If a transgressor brings you news, verify it carefully" — the relation is generality in one respect; so there is no ground of preference for confining the verse only to the case of an obligatory ruling where the word of a transgressor is not accepted. Rather the contrary: the first is better, that is, that we should not accept the word of a transgressor in any case and should verify even in cases of recommendation and dislike. The evidence of this second is of certain provenance, and this matter is confirmed by the governing principle, since the principle is the absence of obligation and the quittance of the conscience from that ruling. It is possible that this objection be answered by saying that the blessed verse indicates not acting upon the word of a transgressor without investigation, while acting upon the word of a transgressor in our present case comes after the coming of the narrations, so that this act is not an act without investigation; therefore the verse is not specified by means of the reports. Rather, on account of the coming of this blessed verse, what is more general than the weak reports is removed from the subject of the ruling, from the subject of the ruling in the verse, by way of specialisation.

ثم اعلم أن بعض الأصحاب يرجعون في المندوبات إلى أخبار المخالفين و رواياتهم و يذكرونها في كتبهم و هو لا يخلو من إشكال لورود النهي في كثير من الأخبار عن الرجوع إليهم و العمل بأخبارهم لا سيما إذا كان ما ورد في أخبارهم هيئة مخترعة و عبادة مبتدعة لم يعهد مثلها في الأخبار المعتبرة و اللّٰه تعالى يعلم.

Then know that some of our scholars, in matters of recommendation, refer to the reports and narrations of the Sunnis and mention them in their books. This matter is not free of difficulty, because in many reports there has come a prohibition of referring to the Sunnis and acting upon their reports — particularly when in their reports some invented form or some innovated act of worship has come, the like of which is not witnessed in the reliable reports of the People of the House, peace be upon them. God knows best.