فَإِنَّهُ حَبْلُ اللَّهِ الْمَتِينُ وَ سَبَبُهُ الْأَمِينُ وَ فِيهِ رَبِيعُ الْقَلْبِ وَ يَنَابِيعُ الْعِلْمِ وَ مَا لِلْقَلْبِ جِلَاءٌ غَيْرُهُ وَ سَاقَ الْخُطْبَةَ إِلَى قَوْلِهِ فَإِيَّاكُمْ وَ التَّلَوُّنَ فِي دِينِ اللَّهِ فَإِنَّ جَمَاعَةً فِيمَا تَكْرَهُونَ مِنَ الْحَقِّ خَيْرٌ مِنْ فُرْقَةٍ فِيمَا تُحِبُّونَ مِنَ الْبَاطِلِ وَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ سُبْحَانَهُ لَمْ يُعْطِ أَحَداً بِفُرْقَةٍ خَيْراً مِمَّنْ مَضَى وَ لَا مِمَّنْ بَقِيَ.

Truly God the Glorified has admonished no one with anything like the Qur'an, for the Qur'an is God's firm rope and His trustworthy means. In the Qur'an is the springtime of the heart and the springs of knowledge. For the heart no polish can be found but the Qur'an… And he continued the sermon until he reached the point where he said: So beware of two-facedness in religion, for solidarity and unity in the way of truth — "even though you dislike it" — is better than dispersion in the way of falsehood — "even though it please you" — for God the Glorified has given nothing by means of division either to those who went before or to those who come after.

بيان: أول الكلام إشارة إلى المنع من العمل بالآراء و المقاييس و الاجتهادات الباطلة و التضريس الإحكام حتى يعرف ما أنكر أي يتخيل أنه عرفه و لم يعرفه بدليل و برهان و لا ضياء حجة تعميم بعد التخصيص و التلون أيضا العمل بالآراء و المقاييس فإنها تستلزم اختلاف الأحكام.

The beginning of his words, peace be upon him, is an indication of acting by opinions, analogies and false exertions and of stating rulings as definite, which he forbids. A person imagines that he has come to know that ruling, whereas he has not known it by way of demonstration and proof, nor does he have the light of a proof that is general after specification. "Variability" too is precisely acting by opinions and analogy, which causes the rulings to differ.

«76»- سن، المحاسن أَبِي عَمَّنْ ذَكَرَهُ عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ عليه السلام فِي رِسَالَتِهِ إِلَى أَصْحَابِ الرَّأْيِ وَ الْقِيَاسِ أَمَّا بَعْدُ فَإِنَّهُ مَنْ دَعَا غَيْرَهُ إِلَى دِينِهِ بِالارْتِيَاءِ وَ الْمَقَايِيسِ لَمْ يُنْصِفْ وَ لَمْ يُصِبْ حَظَّهُ لِأَنَّ الْمَدْعُوَّ إِلَى ذَلِكَ لَا يَخْلُو أَيْضاً مِنَ الِارْتِيَاءِ وَ الْمَقَايِيسِ وَ مَتَى مَا لَمْ يَكُنْ بِالدَّاعِي قُوَّةٌ فِي دُعَائِهِ عَلَى الْمَدْعُوِّ لَمْ يُؤْمَنْ عَلَى الدَّاعِي أَنْ يَحْتَاجَ إِلَى الْمَدْعُوِّ بَعْدَ قَلِيلٍ لِأَنَّا قَدْ رَأَيْنَا الْمُتَعَلِّمَ الطَّالِبَ رُبَّمَا كَانَ فَائِقاً لِلْمُعَلِّمِ وَ لَوْ بَعْدَ حِينٍ وَ رَأَيْنَا الْمُعَلِّمَ الدَّاعِيَ رُبَّمَا احْتَاجَ فِي رَأْيِهِ إِلَى رَأْيِ مَنْ يَدْعُو وَ فِي ذَلِكَ تَحَيَّرَ الْجَاهِلُونَ وَ شَكَّ الْمُرْتَابُونَ وَ ظَنَّ الظَّانُّونَ وَ لَوْ كَانَ ذَلِكَ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ جَائِزاً لَمْ يَبْعَثِ اللَّهُ الرُّسُلَ بِمَا فِيهِ الْفَصْلُ وَ لَمْ يَنْهَ عَنِ الْهَزْلِ وَ لَمْ يَعِبِ الْجَهْلَ وَ لَكِنَّ النَّاسَ لَمَّا سَفِهُوا الْحَقَّ وَ غَمَطُوا النِّعْمَةَ وَ اسْتَغْنَوْا بِجَهْلِهِمْ وَ تَدَابِيرِهِمْ عَنْ عِلْمِ اللَّهِ وَ اكْتَفَوْا بِذَلِكَ دُونَ رُسُلِهِ وَ الْقُوَّامِ بِأَمْرِهِ وَ قَالُوا لَا شَيْ ءَ إِلَّا مَا أَدْرَكَتْهُ عُقُولُنَا وَ عَرَفَتْهُ أَلْبَابُنَا فَوَلَّاهُمُ اللَّهُ مَا تَوَلَّوْا وَ أَهْمَلَهُمْ وَ خَذَلَهُمْ حَتَّى صَارُوا عَبَدَةَ أَنْفُسِهِمْ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ وَ لَوْ كَانَ اللَّهُ رَضِيَ مِنْهُمُ اجْتِهَادَهُمْ وَ ارْتِيَاءَهُمْ فِيمَا ادَّعَوْا مِنْ ذَلِكَ لَمْ يَبْعَثِ اللَّهُ إِلَيْهِمْ فَاصِلًا لِمَا بَيْنَهُمْ وَ لَا زَاجِراً عَنْ وَصْفِهِمْ وَ إِنَّمَا اسْتَدْلَلْنَا أَنَّ رِضَى اللَّهِ غَيْرُ ذَلِكَ بِبِعْثَةِ الرُّسُلِ بِالْأُمُورِ الْقَيِّمَةِ الصَّحِيحَةِ وَ التَّحْذِيرِ عَنِ الْأُمُورِ الْمُشْكِلَةِ الْمُفْسِدَةِ ثُمَّ جَعَلَهُمْ أَبْوَابَهُ وَ صِرَاطَهُ وَ الْأَدِلَّاءَ عَلَيْهِ بِأُمُورٍ مَحْجُوبَةٍ عَنِ الرَّأْيِ وَ الْقِيَاسِ فَمَنْ طَلَبَ مَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ بِقِيَاسٍ وَ رَأْىٍ لَمْ يَزْدَدْ مِنَ اللَّهِ إِلَّا بُعْداً وَ لَمْ يَبْعَثْ رَسُولًا قَطُّ وَ إِنْ طَالَ عُمُرُهُ قَابِلًا مِنَ النَّاسِ خِلَافَ مَا جَاءَ بِهِ حَتَّى يَكُونَ مَتْبُوعاً مَرَّةً وَ تَابِعاً أُخْرَی وَ لَمْ يُرَ أَيْضاً فِيمَا جَاءَ بِهِ اسْتَعْمَلَ

Al-Mahasin: Narrators have related from Imam al-Sadiq, peace be upon him: The Imam in his letter to the people of analogy gave the following warning: Whoever calls people to his own religion by opinion and analogy has no share of fairness, since the one called to analogy also has an opinion; and it is evident that when the caller has no advantage over the one called to analogy, he is not safe from needing, after a short time, the one he called. For we have often seen that a student prevails over his teacher — even after some time — and it may well be that the teacher who calls to opinion and analogy comes to need the opinion of the one he called; and it is here that the ignorant become bewildered and the people of doubt fall into confusion and the people of supposition go on supposing! If analogy were permissible with God, there would have been no need for Him to send the prophets, or to forbid jesting and count ignorance a fault. But people counted the truth and the blessing as of no account and foolishly, and ignorantly considered themselves independent of God's knowledge and the Messenger of God's command, may God bless him and his family, and said: There is nothing beyond the understanding and knowledge of men like us. God left them to themselves and made them worthless, until, without knowing, they became slaves of their own selves. If their exertion and opinion had been pleasing to God, He would not have sent the prophets to be the decisive word among them and to forbid them analogy. But since God raised up the prophets with what is precious and sound and warned against what is difficult and productive of corruption, He made the prophets the gate and the guides to matters that are beyond the reach of opinion and analogy. Seeking God's ruling by means of analogy and opinion leads to nothing but greater distance from God. And God never — even if He gave him a long life — [sent] a prophet who would accept from the opinion of people something contrary to what he brought from God, so that at times he would be in the position of one followed and at times in the position of a follower; and it has never been seen that in what he presents as God's rulings,