Science of Narrators (ELMUR REJAAL) LESSON 6

1. Science of Narrators (ELMUR REJAAL)LESSON 6 The opinion of a JURIST (MOJTAHID) The trusted of SH. MOFEED SHIEKHS of Permission (EJAZA) EJMAA’ or the consensus Abundance of narrations Self justification or self attestation

2. The opinion of a JURIST (MOJTAHID) or a FAQEEH: • Is the verification of a narrator through a JUSRIST or Scholar in JURISPRUDENCE evaluation? • There are four opinions regarding this issue: • It is an evaluation any way or absolutely, and it is considered justification. Because every MOJTAHID has some knowledge of REJAAL science. • Completely not considered, and not an evaluation, because though he is a jurist and uses ELM REJAAL, but his words are not evaluation. • If the evaluation of a jurist is a narration, then it depends on being trusted or not. • And if such evaluation is based on the Jurist’s EJTIHAAD, then the researcher needs to do his own intellectual work.

3. The trusted ones of SH. MOFEED: • Are the ones whom SH. MOFEED considered them trusted considered trusted, i.e. is the trust given to specific narrators by SH. MOFEED considered evaluation? • There a big debate in the opinion of the scholars, due to the very high intellectual position of SH. MOFEED. And the debate occurred especially in the SANAD of the HADEETH of moon sighting for the holy month of RAMADHAN, and the HADEETH of Imam Raza (AS) Imamat. • Some said as long as there is no conflicting evidence from other REJALIS regarding his SANAD, then the narrators in that SANAD considered trusted narrators.

4. S.AKHOEI has his opinion that if SH. MOFEED considers them trusted and he says that what ever in his SANAD is considered a trusted narrator, then his word can be taken into consideration, but it is not a general rule or principle, because in His book ERSHAAD about Infallibles (AS) history he relied on several weak narrators in his SANAD. Based on that if it is not said clearly by SH. MOFEED that his SANAD has all trusted narrators, then it is not to be considered an evaluation or justification. • Like it is mentioned that there were about four thousand narrators used to narrate IMAM AS-SADIQ (AS) narrations, but we can not consider all of them trusted. Other wise there will be no difference between the school of companions and the school of AHLUL BAYT (AS), because the school of companion considers every companion a JUST person.

5. SHIEKHS of Permission (EJAZA): • SHIEKH means literally an elder person, or an old man. But idiomatically it was used in the religion for the religious teacher of the narrator of HADEETH, or a scholar. Because the scholar is bigger in knowledge from the student. • SHIEKH of EJAZA is the one, who narrates the HADEETH, or a book and gives permission to his listeners to narrate his narrations or his work on his behalf. • It was said that the permission to narrate (EJAZA) is a sign of trust and justification, so it is a tool of evaluation. This opinion was embraced by many scholars and was considered a famous opinion.

6. S. ALKHOEI mentions that the permission is not a sign of trust, unless if the teacher mentions that in his permission, that means he mentions in it that the person whom he has given the permission is a trusted person. There are greater scholars such as the scholars of consensus (USHAAB ALEJMAA’) companions of the Infallibles (AS), which we investigate about their status, and they were the companions of the Infallibles (AS), so investigating the status of the ones who were given the permissions to narrate from their teachers is based on the concept of priority. • The benefit of the permission is that it authenticates the content of the narration and not the narrator.

7. The consensus on a Justification or evaluation: • Basically the EJMAA’ or the consensus on a FATWA or religious law is not valid unless if it includes the opinion of an Infallible (AS) or it expresses the opinion of the Infallible (AS). • But here the situation is different, here we are talking about all the REJAALIS they have a consensus about a narrator being trusted, and so does it consider being an evaluation of the status.

8. S.ALKHOEI mentions yes it is an evaluation, because one trusted REJAALI narrator is considered an evaluation, so if all of them they justify or defame a narrator unanimously, and have a consensus of certain evaluation, then it becomes stronger evaluation. As long as there is no evidence that the opinion was EJTIHAAD of the REJAALIS. This is regarding the early ones MOTAQADIMOON.

9. Abundance of narrations: • It means that if a narrator narrates plenty of narrations, such is considered a sign of the narrator being trusted; abundance of narration is a sign of being a trusted narrator. S. ALKHOEI mentions that this principle was basically derived from some of weak HADEETH narrated by Imam ALSADIQ (AS) which indicates that know our SHIAS or the higher rank Men by the abundance of their narrations. S. ALKHOEI says even if we consider these narrations were ok, it has no indication that a person who narrates plenty of narrations should be considered a trusted person, in fact there may be fabricators whose narrators are more than the trusted narrators.

10. Self justification or self attestation or testimony That means a narrators narrates a narration which has a praise for him, such as the narration of ABDULLAH IBN MAYMOON, who narrates the hadeeth of IMAM ALBAQIR (AS) who said: O son of MAYMOON, how many are you in Mecca, he said : four, Imam Said: (you are the light of Allah in the darkness of the earth). IBN MAYMOON is trusted by other evaluations, not by this narration, because this narration creates a logical loop, or a circle, as mentioned by S. ALKHOEI.