Therefore...

Therefore, it is clear that when the Shi‘ah regard the hadith s of the ( ‘a ) as a source of their fiqh , this does not mean that they consider these hadith s as independent of the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (S) but they ascribe the credibility of the hadith s of the Prophet’s progeny ( ‘a ) to the fact that they clarify the meaning of the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (S).

Therefore, the hadith s of the infallible Imams followed by the Shi‘ah are not of their own; whatever they say is the same as the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (S). In order to prove this idea, it is appropriate to quote some of the narrations of the Prophet’s progeny ( ‘a ): 1.

In response to a man’s question, Imam as-Sadiq ( ‘a ) says: "مهما أجبتك فيه بشئ فهو عن رسول الله (ص) لسنا نقول برأينا من شئ." “All the answers I give you are based on the words of the Messenger of Allah (S) and we do not say anything of our own.”[^6] He ( ‘a ) also says elsewhere: حديثي حديث أبي وحديث أبي حديث جدّي وحديث جدّي حديث الحسين وحديث الحسين حديث الحسن وحديث الحسين حديث أمير المؤمنين وحديث أمير المؤمنين حديث رسول الله (ص) وحديث رسول الله قول الله عزّوجلّ.

My hadith is my father’s hadith , and my father’s hadith is my grandfather’s hadith , and my grandfather’s hadith is al-Husayn ( ‘a )’s hadith , and al-Husayn’s hadith is al-Hasan’s hadith , and al-Hasan’s hadith is the Commander of the Faithful’s hadith , and the Commander of the Faithful’s hadith is the Messenger of Allah’s hadith (S), and the Messenger of Allah’s hadith is from Allah, the Honorable and Glorious.[^7] 2.

Imam Muhammad al-Baqir ( ‘a ) thus says to Jabir (ibn ‘Abd Allah al-Ansari): "حدثني أبي عن جدّي رسول الله (ص) عن جبرئيل عن الله عز وجل وكلما أحدثك بهذا الإسناد.

My father narrated to me from the Messenger of Allah (S), and he from Jibra’il (Archangel Gabriel) ( ‘a ), and Jibra’il from God, the Honorable and Glorious, and all my narrations are based on this chain of transmission.[^8] The mentioned hadith s show clearly that the hadith s of the Imams followed by the Shi‘ah are the very Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (S).