It will be built according to one of the possibilities...

It will be built according to one of the possibilities inspired by the text which would provide the inquirer with the desired satisfaction of the answer while, at the same time, such possibilities are hidden from others who will be confused about them and about the actual meaning the Imam (a.s.) meant thereby. It is then that it must be compared with other ahadith said on similar occasions, or with the context of bases which agree with it and which were set by them, peace be upon them.

The meaning of the mutashabih may be similar to the general and the particular, the unrestricted and the absolute, while the general and the absolute would then be similar to the mutashabih , the special and the restricted would be similar to the muhkam.

Genuineness of the Creed of We cannot find in any other sect the genuineness which characterizes the creed of the (a.s.) in the area of legislation, for it relies on a deep understanding of the Holy Qur'an and the pristine Prophetic Sunnah which derives from its original leading fountainhead a source of its legislation and such rules.

For example, according to a narrative, a man asked Imam ar-Ridha’ (a.s.) about another man who said at the time of his death, "Any old slave I have is now emancipated for the sake of pleasing God." The Imam said, "Yes, there is a way to determine who is `old' according to the Almighty and Praised God Who says in His Book, `...

till it became like an old date cluster;' therefore, anyone among his slaves who has been with him for at least six months must now be freed." The date cluster becomes old and dry during the period of six months. In this example, the Imam (a.s.) did not contend himself by just providing a legislative rule; he also derives its rule from the text of the Holy Qur'an.

Independence of the (a.s.) From Qiyas and Others The (a.s.) did not sense the need to seek avenues which were distant from the legislative realities in the conclusions they reached such as qiyas (comparison), istihsan (preference), etc., which were regarded by others as indicative of the legislative rule when they lack a concrete text, due to the fact that, because of the knowledge and the secrets of the Message which they inherited from their grandfather the Messenger of God (S) as well as their own level of iman (firm belief), they were self sufficient, independent, and due to what God had endowed them with of the faculty of knowledge in order they might be His Proofs over people.