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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books The Emendation of A Shi‘ite Creed On the Divergent Traditions (Al -Ahadithu 'l-Mukhtalifah) ============================================================= Abu Ja‘far says on the divergent traditions .ash-Shaykh al-Mufid, may Allah have mercy upon him, comments that Abu Ja‘far, may Allah have mercy upon him, did not explain the method of ascertaining which tradition is to be followed as binding precedent in jurisprudence, and which is not.

In fact, he gives only a brief account of this, notwithstanding the need for a detailed examination to discriminate between what must be followed and what not, and for scrutinizing every- one of them, to tell the true tradition from the spurious, and what he has established in his summary is insufficient.

We have discussed the divergence of the traditions and explained the difference between the sound and the spurious, the true and the false, and what is binding precedent and what is to be disregarded, and that which agrees in content, although the wording differs, and that which stems from prudent fear (at-taqiyyah) and that where the meaning is the same as that expressed.

All this is set out in our books and compilations in such a way as to dispel any doubt for those who will consult them, and grace is of Allah, the Almighty. He who wants to comprehend this subject should consult our book entitled at-Tamhid, and that entitled Masabihu 'n- nur. Also, the responses (given) to our followers throughout the world. In brief, not every tradition ascribed to the truthful Imams does, in fact, derive from them, since patent absurdities are ascribed to them (with others).

Consequently, he who has not mastered this science cannot distinguish the true from the false. Thus, different expressions have been related on their authority, of which the meanings are identical though they differ in expression.

This difference is due to the fact that they deal with both the specific and the general (al-khass wa 'l-‘amm), and the supererogatory and the obligatory; so, also, some deal with particular points on which the decision cannot be applied to other cases, and still others are worded metaphorically, out of prudent fear and cautious behavior. Each of these categories has its own inferences and its own proofs, and grace is of Allah, the Exalted.