For example...

For example, it is stated in the Maqbulah of ‘Umar ibn Hanzalah that he asked Imam as-Sadiq ( ‘a ) about two persons from among the Shi‘ah who were in conflict over religious issues such as liability and debt { dayn } and inheritance { mirath }.

The Imam said, “They have to look for a person who could narrate our hadith s, give opinion about what we declared lawful { halal } and unlawful { haram }, and know our decrees { ahkam } for I declare such a person as the judge and arbiter for you.”[^8] Sometimes also the pure Imams ( ‘a ) would appoint certain persons to whom the Shi‘ah refer in matters of jurisprudence and religious laws.

For instance, according to Shaykh at-Tusi, ‘Ali ibn Musayyab said to Imam ar-Ridha ( ‘a ): “There is a long way and I cannot come to you whenever I want.

From whom should I ask about your religious decrees?” The Imam replied: “{You may ask} from Zakariyya ibn Adam as he is trustworthy in {matters of} religion and the world.”[^9] Similarly, Imam al-Baqir ( ‘a ) commanded Aban ibn Taghlib to sit in the mosque and issue religious edicts { fatawa } for the people.[^10] The Beginning of Ijtihad During the period of the pure Imams ( ‘a ), they used to teach their students the principles of jurisprudence { usul al-fiqh } and the rules of deducing them.

For this reason, books attributed to the infallible Imams ( ‘a ) have been written by Shi‘ah scholars; for example, the book Usul Al ar-Rasul written by Hashim Khwansari; Usul Asliyyah authored by Sayyid ‘Abd Allah ibn Muhammad-Ridha Husayn; and the book Fusul al-Muhimmah on the principles of the Imams ( ‘a ) penned by Muhammad ibn al-Hasan Hurr al-‘Amili.[^11] In the books on rijal , some of the great companions of the pure Imams ( ‘a ) have been described as jurists { fuqaha }.