It is indeed unlikely that the Imams...

It is indeed unlikely that the Imams, peace be upon them, should deliver an opinion (responsum) dictated by prudence (at- taqiyyah) in a certain case, and that this should be heard by the learned divines among their companions without their having any knowledge of its true interpretation, since, even if this escaped one, it would not escape all, as they were well-versed in deliver- ing response, and the limits of what is lawful and what is prohibited, what is obligatory and what is supererogatory, and the general ordinances of religion.

Above all, whenever we find a tradition differing from the text of the Book (Qur’an) and it cannot be reconciled with it, we discard it as the Book and the consensus of the Imams' dictate, and so, if we find a tradition contradicts the rules of reason, we discard it, as reason declares it corrupt; yet we judge either that it is sound and has been delivered from prudence or false and has been ascribed to the Imams, so we content ourselves with mentioning it, and admitting it in the light of the various kinds of expediency accepted as lawful by the shari‘ah and that which it proscribes, or those the current usage sanctions or denies.

This is part of the general rule which has been described in detail, and which (if applied) will show the truth in divergent traditions; yet the final judgment cannot be established before specifying the divergent traditions and applying the rules appropriate in each case, as we have explained.

As for the tradition which Abu Ja‘far, may Allah have mercy upon him, relies on, and which has been mentioned in the book attributed to Sulaym[^1] , on the authority of Aban ibn Abi ‘Ayyash, the (general) meaning of it is sound, yet none the less, the book is unauthoritative and most of it cannot be accepted as binding precedent, since it has suffered corruption and adulteration; therefore the scrupulous should abandon all that it contains, and not rely on the greater part of it, or imitate its narrator, but enquire of the learned divines, to distinguish for him the sound from the spurious.

And Allah is He Who guides to the truth. [^1]: Sulaym ibn Qays al-Hilali al-‘Amiri al-Kufi: His kunyah was AbuSadiq. He was accused by al-Hajjaj for his Shi‘ite learnings, a charge which made him go into hiding. He was a companion of ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib and known as a man of piety. It is said that his face was illuminated by his piety.