Chapter on narrating books and Hadith
(The virtue of writing and its preservation)
H 139, Ch. 17, h 1
Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from his father from ibn abu Umayr
from Mansur ibn Yunus from abu Basir who has said the following.
"(Imam) abu Abdallah (a.s.) said about the words of Allah in the holy Quran,
" . . . Our servants who listen to the words and only follow the best ones . . ..
(39:18)." "He is a man who learns Hadith and reports it as he has learned
without any additions of omissions"
H 140, Ch. 17, h 2
Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Muhammad ibn al-Husayn from ibn
abu Umayr from ibn Udhayna from Muhammad ibn Muslim who has said the
following.
"I asked abu Abdallah (a.s.), Can I add to or omit from a Hadith that
I hear from you?" He said, "It is alight, if you would preserve the
meaning,"
H 140, Ch. 17, h 3
It is narrated from him from Muhammad ibn al-Husayn from ibn Sinan from
Dawud ibn Farqad who has said the following.
"I asked (Imam) abu Abdallah (a.s.), I hear your statement and I want to
narrate to others but it does not come through exactly." The Imam asked,
"Do you do it purposely?" He said, "No, I do not do it purposely." The
Imam asked, "Do you keep the meaning?" He said, "Yes, I keep the
meaning." The Imam said, "It then is alright."
H 141, Ch. 17, h 4
It is narrated from him from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Isa from
al-Husayn ibn Said from al-Qasim ibn Muhammad from Ali ibn abu Hamza from abu Basir
who has said the following.
"Abu Abdallah (a.s.) said to Jamil, What you hear from me narrate it from
my father."
H 142, Ch. 17, h 5
It is narrated from him from Ahmad ibn Muhammad and Muhammad ibn
al-Husayn from ibn Mahbub from Abdallah ibn Sinan who has said the following.
"I said to (Imam) abu Abdallah (a.s.), People come to me and they listen
to the Ahadith that I narrate to them from you. I become tired and
weak." The Imam said, "Narrate to them a Hadith from the beginning
and one from the middle and one from the end."
H 143, Ch. 17, h 6
It is narrated from him from Ahmad ibn Umar al-Hallal who has
said the following.
"I said to (Imam) abu al-Hassan al-Rida (a.s.), One of our people gives me a
book but he does not say whether I can narrate any thing from it or not. Can I narrate
from it?" He has said that the Imam (a.s.) said, "Yes, you can narrate if
you would that the book is his."
H 144, Ch. 17, h 7
Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from his father from Ahmad ibn Muhammad
ibn Khalid from al-Nawfali from al-Sakuni from abu Abdallah (a.s.) who has said the
following.
"When you would narrate Hadith you must say who its narrator is. If it would
be true it will be for you and if it would be false it will be his responsibility.
H 145, Ch. 17, h 8
Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Abdallah has narrated from Ahmad ibn
Muhammad from abu Ayyub al-Madani from ibn abu Umayr from Husayn al-Ahmasi from abu
Abdallah (a.s.) who has said the following.
"The heart relies on writing."
H 146, Ch. 17, h 9
Al-Husayn ibn Muhammad has narrated from Mualla ibn Muhammad from
al-Hassan ibn Ali al-Washsha from Asim ibn Humayd from abu Basir who has said
the following.
"(Imam) abu Abdallah (a.s.) said, You must write down because you will
not memorize until you write down."
H 147, Ch. 17, h 10
Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Isa
from al-Hassan ibn Ali ibn Faddal from ibn Bukayr from 'Ubayd ibn Zurara who has said the
following.
"Abu Abdallah (a.s.) said, You must preserve your books because you will
soon need them."
H 148, Ch. 17, h 11
A number of our people has narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Khalid
al-Barqi from certain persons of his people from abu Said al-Khaybari from
al-Mufaddal ibn Umar who has said the following.
"Abu Abdallah (a.s.) said, You must write down (Hadith) and spread
your knowledge among your brethren. If you will die your children will inherit your books.
A time will come when people will face chaos and they will find no comfort but with their
books."
H 149, Ch. 17, h 12
It is narrated through the same chain of narrators from Muhammad ibn
Ali in a marfu manner from abu Abdallah (a.s.) who has said the following.
"Abu Abdallah (a.s.) said, Beware of the branched-out lies. They
asked the Imam, "What is branched-out lies?" The Imam replied, "It is when
a person narrates a Hadith to you and you would ignore him and narrate it from the
person from whom he had narrated the Hadith."
H 150, Ch. 17, h 13
Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Isa
from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn abu Nasr from Jamil ibn Darraj who has said the following.
"Abu Abdallah (a.s.) said, Speak our Hadith clearly because we are
eloquent people."
H 151, Ch. 17, h 14
Ali ibn Muhammad has narrated from Sahl ibn Ziyad from Ahmad ibn
Muhammad from Umar ibn 'Abd al-Aziz from Hisham ibn Salim, Hammed ibn
Uthman and others who have said the following.
"Abu Abdallah (a.s.) said, My Hadith is the Hadith of my father. The
Hadith of my father is the Hadith of my grandfather. The Hadith of my grandfather
is the Hadith of Imam Husayn. The Hadith of Imam al-Husayn is the Hadith
of Imam al- Hassan. The Hadith of Imam al-Hassan is the Hadith of Imam Ali
(a.s.). The Hadith of Imam Ali is the Hadith of the holy Prophet (s.a.) and
the Hadith of the holy Prophet is the words of Allah, the Majestic, the
Glorious."
H 152, Ch. 17, h 15
A number of our people have narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad from
Muhammad ibn al-Hassan ibn abu Khalid Shaynula who has said the following.
"I said to abu Jafar (a.s.), May Allah take my soul in your service, our
shaikhs have narrated Hadith from Imam abu Jafar and from Imam abu
Abdallah (a.s.) and at that time because of fear Taqiyah, concealment was
sever. They concealed their books and did narrate from them. When they died their books
came to us." The Imam said, "You may narrate from them because they
contain the truth."