مُوسَى بْنِ جَعْفَرٍ عليهما السلام جُعِلْتُ فِدَاكَ فُقِّهْنَا فِي الدِّينِ وَ أَغْنَانَا اللَّهُ بِكُمْ عَنِ النَّاسِ حَتَّى إِنَّ الْجَمَاعَةَ مِنَّا لَيَكُونُ فِي الْمَجْلِسِ مَا يَسْأَلُ رَجُلٌ صَاحِبَهُ يَحْضُرُهُ الْمَسْأَلَةُ وَ يَحْضُرُهُ جَوَابُهَا مَنّاً مِنَ اللَّهِ عَلَيْنَا بِكُمْ فَرُبَّمَا وَرَدَ عَلَيْنَا الشَّيْ ءُ لَمْ يَأْتِنَا فِيهِ عَنْكَ وَ عَنْ آبَائِكَ شَيْ ءٌ فَنَنْظُرُ إِلَى أَحْسَنِ مَا يَحْضُرُنَا وَ أَوْفَقِ الْأَشْيَاءِ لِمَا جَاءَنَا مِنْكُمْ فَنَأْخُذُ بِهِ فَقَالَ هَيْهَاتَ هَيْهَاتَ فِي ذَلِكَ وَ اللَّهِ هَلَكَ مَنْ هَلَكَ يَا ابْنَ حَكِيمٍ ثُمَّ قَالَ لَعَنَ اللَّهُ أَبَا حَنِيفَةَ يَقُولُ ١ قَالَ عَلِيٌّ وَ قُلْتُ قَالَ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ حَكِيمٍ لِهِشَامِ بْنِ الْحَكَمِ وَ اللَّهِ مَا أَرَدْتُ إِلَّا أَنْ يُرَخِّصَ لِي فِي الْقِيَاسِ ٢.

I said to al-Imam Musa al-Kazim, peace be upon him: May I be your ransom! We are learned in religion and through your blessing God has made us independent of people, to the point that when our companions are in a gathering, no one asks another a question but that the question and its answer are present with him; and this is God's favour upon us through the blessing of your existence. Often we are asked a question for which we have no answer from you or from your fathers; may we then take the best thing we have and the thing most in accord with your narrations and answer by it? He said: Never! Never! By God, this leads to destruction. May God curse Abu Hanifa, who used to say: 'Ali said thus and I say thus. — Muhammad b. Hakim said to Hisham b. al-Hakam: By God, I wanted to obtain permission from the Imam to use analogy. —

بيان: قوله ما يسأل رجل صاحبه في بعض النسخ إلا يحضره و هو ظاهر و في أكثر النسخ يحضره بغير أداة الاستثناء فتكون كلمة ما نافية أيضا أي لا يحتاج أحد من أهل المجلس أن يسأل صاحبه عن مسألة و جملة يحضره مستأنفة أو موصولة و هي مع صلتها مبتدأ و قوله يحضره خبر أو الجملة استئنافية أو صفة للمجلس و الأول أظهر.

The narrator's words "no man asks his companion": in some copies it is "illa yahduruhu", that is, except that it is present to his mind — and this sense is plain. In most copies the word "yahduruhu" comes without the particle of exception, and the word "ma" in "ma yas'alu rajulun sahibahu" is likewise negative, the sense being: no one of the people of the gathering needs to ask his companion the question (because he knows it). From the grammatical standpoint there are several possibilities in this phrase: 1. that the clause "yahduruhu" is a new sentence; 2. that the clause "ma yas'alu…", relative with its antecedent, is the subject and the clause "yahduruhu" its predicate; 3. that the clause "ma yas'alu…" has an exception in it; 4. that "ma yas'alu…" is an adjective of "gathering". And of these four possibilities the first is the clearest.

«52»- سن، المحاسن الْوَشَّاءُ عَنِ الْمُثَنَّى عَنْ أَبِي بَصِيرٍ قَالَ: قُلْتُ لِأَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ عليه السلام يَرِدُ عَلَيْنَا أَشْيَاءُ لَيْسَ نَعْرِفُهَا فِي كِتَابٍ وَ لَا سُنَّةٍ فَنَنْظُرُ فِيهَا ٣ فَقَالَ لَا أَمَا إِنَّكَ إِنْ أَصَبْتَ لَمْ تُؤْجَرْ وَ إِنْ كَانَ خَطَأً كَذَبْتَ عَلَى اللَّهِ.

Al-Mahasin: Abu Basir says: I said to Imam al-Sadiq, peace be upon him: Questions are put to us which we cannot answer from the Book and the practice; may we answer by analogy and personal view? He said: No! For if you hit upon the reality you have no reward, and if it is wrong you have ascribed a lie to God.

سن، المحاسن ابن محبوب أو غيره عن المثنى مثله.

Al-Mahasin: Al-Muthanna related the like of it.

«53»- سن، المحاسن أَبِي عَنِ النَّضْرِ عَنْ دُرُسْتَ عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ حَكِيمٍ قَالَ: قُلْتُ لِأَبِي الْحَسَنِ عليه السلام إِنَّا نَتَلَاقَى فِيمَا بَيْنَنَا فَلَا يَكَادُ يَرِدُ عَلَيْنَا إِلَّا وَ عِنْدَنَا فِيهِ شَيْ ءٌ وَ ذَلِكَ شَيْ ءٌ أَنْعَمَ اللَّهُ بِهِ عَلَيْنَا بِكُمْ وَ قَدْ يَرِدُ عَلَيْنَا الشَّيْ ءُ وَ لَيْسَ عِنْدَنَا فِيهِ شَيْ ءٌ وَ عِنْدَنَا مَا يُشْبِهُهُ فَنَقِيسُ عَلَى أَحْسَنِهِ فَقَالَ لَا وَ مَا لَكُمْ وَ لِلْقِيَاسِ ثُمَّ قَالَ لَعَنَ اللَّهُ أَبَا فُلَانٍ كَانَ يَقُولُ قَالَ عَلِيٌّ عليه السلام وَ قُلْتُ وَ قَالَ الصَّحَابَةُ وَ قُلْتُ ثُمَّ قَالَ لِي أَ كُنْتَ تَجْلِسُ إِلَيْهِ قُلْتُ لَا وَ لَكِنْ هَذَا قَوْلُهُ فَقَالَ أَبُو الْحَسَنِ عليه السلام إِذَا جَاءَكُمْ مَا تَعْلَمُونَ فَقُولُوا وَ إِذَا جَاءَكُمْ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ

Al-Mahasin: Muhammad b. Hakim says: I said to Imam al-Kazim, peace be upon him: We meet with one another. Many of the questions put to us we answer through the blessing of your existence; but for some questions we have no answer while we have something like it. May we draw an analogy to the closest of them? He said: No! What have you to do with analogy? May God curse Abu So-and-so, who used to say: 'Ali said thus and I say thus, and the Companions said thus and I say thus. Do you go to him? I said: No! But I know that he says so. He said: If you know, answer; and if not, be silent.