That is because the tradition is the second source of the...

That is because the tradition is the second source of the Islamic law after the Holy Koran. It is of great importance in the Islamic law, for it specifies the general (verses) of the Book, limits its absolute (verses), it distinguishes its abrogated (verses) from its abrogating (ones), and its vague (verses) from its clear (ones). The tradition also denotes the jurisprudential rules concerning worships and dealings.

It gives the general rules which the jurists use to conclude the religious opinion. It has bright rules for individual and social behavior. It has rules for organizing the family and preserving it from committing sins. Moreover, it has all what people need for their individual and social life. For this reason, Imam Abu Ja‘far (al-Baqir), peace be on him, took care of tradition and adopted it positively. Jabir b. Yazïd al-Ju‘fi reported seventy thousand traditions on the authority of the Imam.

Aban b. Taghlub reported a large group of them on his authority. Great figures from the reported a large group of traditions on his authority. The important thing is that Imam Abu Ja‘far (al-Baqir), peace be on him, took care of understanding the meanings of the tradition. He regarded understanding the meanings of the tradition as a criterion for preferring the narration.

Yazïd al-Razzaz reported on the authority of his father on the authority of Abu Abd Allah on the authority of his father, who said: “Know the positions of the Shi‘ites according to their narration and their knowledge. Indeed knowledge is understanding the narration. Through understanding the narration, the believer reaches the maximum degree of belief. I looked at a letter that belonged to ‘Ali.

I found in the letter that the value and importance of the person depend on that he should know that Allah will reckon people according to the reason He has given to them in the world.”[^6] That the narrator understands the meanings of the narration indicates his high scientific rank. As the Imam took great care of the tradition, he put certain rules to distinguish the correct tradition from the incorrect one when they contradict each other.

We will mention that when we talk about the science of the fundamentals which the Imam treated. The Reports of the Imams As for the traditions which were reported on the authority of the pure Imams, peace be on them, they do not denote the personal ideas of the Imams.