different chains of transmission, may produce certainty for those experienced in the study of chains of transmission and well versed in hadith and its narrators. This is knowledge particular to their field, just as each group has its own field of knowledge. Their attaining knowledge does not entail that others attain it, unless those others acquire the knowledge by which they distinguish authentic hadiths from weak ones.

Knowledge, with its diverse kinds and differing characteristics, need not be shared by all rational people, especially knowledge conveyed through transmitted reports. Although some disputants claim that necessary knowledge must be shared by all, this is true of some instances of necessary knowledge, not all. Indeed, we allow that any instance of necessary knowledge could fail to be shared by all. In practice, however, some of it is commonly shared. Certain people mistakenly concluded that all of it must therefore be shared, and consequently denied much of the knowledge possessed specifically by others.

Furthermore, we say: even if we suppose that these reports do not yield knowledge, but only a strong presumption, or that what is required is certainty, our answer is that the requisite conclusion is established independently of these hadiths. They merely confirm and support it, so that different kinds of evidence converge in support of this position.

The twelfth proof (1): The early Muslim generations used to narrate hadiths indicating the superiority of righteous human beings over the angels, and these were narrated publicly. Had this been objectionable, they would have objected to it; this therefore indicates that they held that belief. Even if this does not yield conclusive certainty, some presumptions are at least strong