his recourse [to his own ijtihad would be preferable to his recourse] (1) to the legal opinion of either of them. Indeed, that would be obligatory for him. How much more so, then, when [that] (2) is merely a report from them transmitted by the likes of the Rāfidis?! People such as the two al-Askarīs and their like are themselves obliged to learn from any one of these scholars.
It is well known that ‘Alī ibn al-Husayn and Abū Ja‘far [Muhammad ibn ‘Alī and his son] (3)—Ja‘far ibn Muhammad (4)—were eminent scholars, whereas those [of the Twelve] (5) who came after them were not known to possess the learning known of (6) these men. Yet even these men learned from the scholars of their own time and consulted them. [Thus Abū ‘Imrān ibn al-Ashyab (7), the Baghdadi judge, said: “Our companions informed us that Rabī‘a ibn Abī ‘Abd al-Rahmān (8) mentioned Ja‘far ibn Muhammad (9) and that he had studied the various fields of knowledge.” Rabī‘a then said, “Indeed, he
(1) The text enclosed in brackets is absent only from N.
(2) The word “that” is absent from A, N, and M.
(3) The text enclosed in brackets appears only in A.
(4) N and M read: “and the two sons of Jafar, and Jafar ibn Muhammad.”
(5) The text enclosed in brackets is an addition found only in A.
(6) B alone reads *an* (“from”).
(7) Abū Imrān ibn al-Ashyab: This is how the name appears unpointed in A, and I have been unable to identify him.
(8) Abū Uthmān Rabīa ibn Abī Abd al-Rahmān Farrūkh, known as Rabīat al-Ray. Al-Dhahabī said: “He was an imam, a hadith master, a jurist, a mujtahid, and deeply versed in reasoned opinion.” Rabīa died in 136. See his biography in *Tadhkirat al-Huffāz*, 1/157–158; *al-Jarh wa-l-Tadīl*, vol. [0–9], pt. [0–9], p. [0–9]75; *Tahdhīb al-Asmā wa-l-Lughāt*, pt. [0–9], vol. [0–9], pp. [0–9]89–190; *Wafayāt al-Ayān*, 2/52; and *al-Alām*, 3/42.
(9) The original text of A reads: “ibn Jafar ibn Muhammad.” This is incorrect. Jafar al-Sādiq ibn Muhammad is intended. It cannot refer to Mūsā al-Kāzim ibn Jafar al-Sādiq, because Mūsā was born in 128, eight years before Rabīa’s death.