✅Answer: First, read the following narrations carefully and then follow the matter in the next two posts:

1 عَنِ الرِّضَا عَنْ آبَائِهِ علیهم السلام قَالَ قَالَ النَّبِیُّ صلی الله علیه و آله: أَنَا مَدِینَةُ الْعِلْمِ وَ عَلِیٌّ بَابُهَا

📚 'Uyun al-Akhbar, p. 225

Imam Rida (peace be upon him) said: 'The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: 'I am the city of knowledge and Ali (peace be upon him) is its gate!'

2 عَنِ الرِّضَا عَنْ آبَائِهِ عَنِ الْبَاقِرِ علیهم السلام عَنْ جَابِرٍ الْأَنْصَارِیِّ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلی الله علیه و آله: أَنَا خِزَانَةُ الْعِلْمِ وَ عَلِیٌّ مِفْتَاحُها فَمَنْ أَرَادَ الْخِزَانَةَ فَلْیَأْتِ الْمِفْتَاح

📚 'Uyun al-Akhbar, p. 230

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: 'I am the treasure of knowledge and Ali is its key, so whoever intends the treasure must come to the key (i.e., Master Ali, peace be upon him)!'

3 قال علي علیه السلام : نَحْنُ الشِّعَارُ وَ الْأَصْحَابُ وَ الْخَزَنَةُ وَ الْأَبْوَابُ لَا تُؤْتَی الْبُیُوتُ إِلَّا مِنْ أَبْوَابِهَا فَمَنْ أَتَاهَا مِنْ غَیْرِ أَبْوَابِهَا سُمِّیَ سَارِقاً

📚 Nahj al-Balaghah, Vol. 1, p. 278

Ali (peace be upon him) said: 'We are the relatives, the close ones, the companions, the treasurers, and the gates. Houses are not entered except through their gates, so whoever comes from other than the gates is called a thief!'

4 عَنِ الرِّضَا عَنْ آبَائِهِ عَنْ عَلِیِّ بْنِ أَبِی طَالِبٍ علیهما السلام قَالَ: قَالَ لِیَ النَّبِیُّ صلی الله علیه و آله أَنَا مَدِینَةُ الْعِلْمِ وَ أَنْتَ الْبَابُ وَ کَذَبَ مَنْ زَعَمَ أَنَّهُ یَصِلُ إِلَی الْمَدِینَةِ لَا مِنْ قِبَلِ الْبَاب

📚 Amali by Ibn Shaykh, p. 19

Ali (peace be upon him) said: 'The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said to me: 'I am the city of knowledge and you are its gate and door, and he who claims to have reached the city from other than its door lies!''

5 عَنْ عَلِیِّ بْنِ سُوَیْدٍ السَّائِیِّ قَالَ: کَتَبَ إِلَیَّ أَبُو الْحَسَنِ الْأَوَّلُ وَ هُوَ فِی السِّجْنِ وَ أَمَّا مَا ذَکَرْتَ یَا عَلِیُّ مِمَّنْ تَأْخُذُ مَعَالِمَ دِینِکَ لَا تَأْخُذَنَّ مَعَالِمَ دِینِکَ عَنْ غَیْرِ شِیعَتِنَا فَإِنَّکَ إِنْ تَعَدَّیْتَهُمْ أَخَذْتَ دِینَکَ عَنِ الْخَائِنِینَ الَّذِینَ خَانُوا اللَّهَ وَ رَسُولَهُ وَ خَانُوا أَمَانَاتِهِمْ إِنَّهُمُ

📚 Rijal al-Kashshi, Vol. 1, p. 3, hadith 4

Ali ibn Suwayd al-Sa'i said: Imam Kazim (peace be upon him) wrote to me while he was in prison: 'As for you, O Ali, you mentioned from whom you should take the tenets and rulings of your religion, (the answer is that) do not take the tenets and rulings of your religion from other than our Shi'a, for if you exceed these, you have taken your religion and beliefs from traitors who betrayed Allah and His Messenger and betrayed the trusts of Allah and His Messenger!'

6 عَنْ هَارُونَ بْنِ خَارِجَةَ عَنْ أَبِي عَبْداللَّهِ قَالَ: قُلْتُ لَهُ إِنَّا نَأْتِي هَؤُلَاءِ الْمُخَالِفِينَ فَنَسْمَعُ مِنْهُمُ الْحَدِيثَ فَيَكُونُ حُجَّةً لَنَا عَلَيْهِمْ قَالَ فَقَالَ لَا تَأْتِهِمْ وَ لَا تَسْمَعْ مِنْهُمْ لَعَنَهُمُ اللَّهُ وَ لَعَنَ مِلَلَهُمُ الْمُشْرِكَةَ.

📚 Mustatrafat al-Sara'ir, p. 41, hadith 8

Harun ibn Kharijah said: We go to these opponents and listen to their hadith so that it may be a proof for us against them!

The Imam said:

Do not go to them and do not listen to them,

May Allah curse them and their nation and their polytheistic laws!

The necessity of taking the hadiths of the Messenger of Allah from the gates of their knowledge

(Peace be upon him and his family)

7 عَنْ خَالِدِ بْنِ رَاشِدٍ عَنْ مَوْلًى لِعَبِيدَةَ السَّلْمَانِيِّ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ عَبِيدَةَ يَقُولُ: خَطَبَنَا عَلِيٌّ أَمِيرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَلَى مِنْبَرٍ لَهُ مِنْ لَبِنٍ فَحَمِدَ اللَّهَ وَ أَثْنَى عَلَيْهِ ثُمَّ قَالَ يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَ لَا تُفْتُوا النَّاسَ بِمَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ إِنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ قَالَ قَوْلًا آلَ مِنْهُ إِلَى غَيْرِهِ وَ قَالَ قَوْلًا وُضِعَ عَلَى غَيْرِ مَوْضِعِهِ وَ كُذِبَ عَلَيْهِ فَقَامَ إِلَيْهِ عَلْقَمَةُ وَ عَبِيدَةُ السَّلْمَانِيُّ فَقَالا يَا أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ فَمَا نَصْنَعُ بِمَا قَدْ خُبِّرْنَا فِي هَذِهِ الصُّحُفِ عَنْ أَصْحَابِ مُحَمَّدٍ قَالَ سَلَا عَنْ ذَلِكَ عُلَمَاءَ آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ كَأَنَّهُ يَعْنِي نَفْسَهُ

📚 Kitab 'Asim ibn Humayd al-Hanat, p. 38

'Ubaydah said: Ali (peace be upon him) gave a sermon to us on a brick pulpit, so he praised and glorified Allah, and then he said: 'O people! Fear Allah and do not give a fatwa to people about what you do not have knowledge of, for perhaps the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said something but has returned from it to something else (i.e., it has been abrogated) and has said things that have been placed in other than their place, and lies have also been told about him!'

So 'Alqamah and 'Ubaydah al-Salmani stood up and said: 'So what should we do with these things that have been reported to us from the companions of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) in these papers?'

He said: 'Ask the scholars of the family of Muhammad (peace be upon them all) about them,' (the narrator says) as if he meant himself by the scholars of the family of Muhammad (peace be upon him)!

8 الطَّالَقَانِیُّ عَنِ الْجَلُودِیِّ عَنْ مُحَمَّد بْنِ زَکَرِیَّا عَنْ جَعْفَرِ بْنِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عُمَارَةَ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ جَعْفَرَ بْنَ مُحَمَّدٍ علیهما السلام یَقُولُ ثَلَاثَةٌ کَانُوا یَکْذِبُونَ عَلَی رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلی الله علیه و آله أَبُو هُرَیْرَةَ وَ أَنَسُ بْنُ مَالِکٍ وَ امْرَأَةٌ

📚 Khisal, Vol. 1, p. 190

Ja'far ibn Muhammad ibn 'Ammarah said: I heard Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) say: 'Three people lied about the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Abu Hurayrah and Anas ibn Malik and a woman (meaning the daughter of the first usurper)!'

9 عَنْ هِشَامِ بْنِ سَالِمٍ قَالَ: قُلْتُ لِأَبِی عَبْدِ اللَّهِ علیه السلام جُعِلْتُ فِدَاکَ عِنْدَ الْعَامَّةِ مِنْ أَحَادِیثِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلی الله علیه و آله شَیْ ءٌ یَصِحُّ قَالَ فَقَالَ نَعَمْ إِنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلی الله علیه و آله أَنَالَ وَ أَنَالَ وَ أَنَالَ وَ عِنْدَنَا مَعَاقِلُ الْعِلْمِ وَ فَصْلُ مَا بَیْنَ النَّاسِ.

Hisham ibn Salim said: I said to Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): 'Is there anything from the hadiths of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) that is authentic with the general public?'

He said: 'Yes, indeed the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) conveyed the sciences and conveyed and conveyed! But the refuge of knowledge and the separation of (truth and falsehood) of what is among the people is with us (the Ahl al-Bayt)!'

10 عَنِ الْحَسَنِ بْنِ یَحْیَی قَالَ سَمِعْتُ أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ علیه السلام یَقُولُ إِنَّا أَهْلَ الْبَیْتِ عِنْدَنَا مَعَاقِلُ الْعِلْمِ وَ آثَارُ النُّبُوَّةِ وَ عِلْمُ الْکِتَابِ وَ فَصْلُ مَا بَیْنَ ذَلِکَ.

Hasan ibn Yahya said: I heard Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) say: 'We are a household that the refuge of knowledge and the narrations of prophethood and the knowledge of the Book and the separation of 'what is between them' is with us!'

✅The narrations transmitted from the Infallibles are divided into two general categories:

1 General narrations: These are narrations that are narrated from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) by various companions without the intermediation of the infallible Imams (peace be upon them) and Fatimah Zahra (peace be upon her), and they are generally narrated in the books of the opponents, such as the Sahih Sitta and others.

2 Specific narrations: These are narrations that are narrated through the companions of the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) through the intermediation of the 12 Imams and Fatimah Zahra (peace be upon them all) with a chain of transmission to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) or without a chain of transmission to him, stated by the Infallibles, and they are generally available in the books of Shi'a scholars.

The command to present all the hadiths of the Messenger of Allah to the scholars of his family

(Peace be upon him and his family)

Foundations of seeking knowledge

✅Of course, according to the following narration and its likes, all the narrations that the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) have not attributed to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) are in fact the sayings of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family):

1 1 عَنْ جَابِرٍ قَالَ: قُلْتُ لِأَبِي جَعْفَرٍ إِذَا حَدَّثْتَنِي بِحَدِيثٍ فَأَسْنِدْهُ لِي فَقَالَ حَدَّثَنِي أَبِي عَنْ جَدِّي عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ عَنْ جَبْرَئِيلَ عَنِ اللَّهِ تَبَارَكَ وَ تَعَالَى وَ كُلُّ مَا أُحَدِّثُكَ بِهَذَا الْإِسْنَادِ

📚 Amali by al-Mufid, p. 42, hadith 10

Jabir said: I said to Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): 'When you narrate a hadith to me, also tell me its chain of transmission!'

The Imam said: 'My father narrated to me from my grandfather from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) from Jibra'il from Allah, the Blessed and Exalted! And every hadith that I narrate to you has this same chain of transmission!'

✅But what is specified as our duty in numerous narrations, a few examples of which were mentioned in the previous part, is that we should take the sciences of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) through and with the intermediation of the Infallibles, and this has multiple reasons that should be mentioned in a separate discussion, and one of them is that the gate of the city of knowledge of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) is the Commander of the Faithful and the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them), and we are commanded to enter the city from the gate so that we are not thieves, and also the narrations narrated from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) by his companions, some of them are abrogated, some are delusions, some are placed in other than their proper place, and some are falsely attributed to him, and some of them are also authentic, the distinction and separation and clarification of which is done by the gates of the knowledge of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), meaning the pure Imams (peace be upon them), and these concepts are evident in the mentioned narrations.

Therefore, the insightful companions of the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them), such as Zurarah and Muhammad ibn Muslim and Abu Basir and Burayd ibn Mu'awiyah and..., would only enter the city of knowledge through the gate of knowledge, which are the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them), and if they heard anything from the general narrations, they would ask the Imam about it, and the Imam (peace be upon him) would say in some cases: 'It is authentic,' and in some cases, he would say: 'It is a lie,' and in some cases, he would say: 'Such and such part of it has been decreased or increased,' and in some cases, he would say: 'It is authentic but its place was such and such a place,' examples of which are recorded in Shi'a jurisprudence.

✅Based on this, the basis of the Shi'a's practice has been to act upon the narrations narrated by the infallible Imams (peace be upon them), and they also wrote their books from the specific narrations.

Unfortunately, little by little, some Shi'a scholars, in compiling books, mixed the specific and general narrations, and this caused multiple problems and made many matters confused and caused some of the unactionable general narrations to become the basis of practice for the lovers of the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them)!

✅Among these cases is the narration of 'Laylat al-Ragha'ib,' which is a general narration and is narrated from a liar narrator named Anas ibn Malik, which has found its way into Shi'a books due to the inattention of some and has gained great fame, while there is no trace or witness for it in the narrations transmitted from the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them), and it has no place for practice for the Shi'a because we take the hadiths and sciences of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) through his gate of knowledge, meaning the Commander of the Faithful and the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them), and not from the wall of people like Anas ibn Malik and Abu Hurayrah and 'A'ishah and.....

✅In order to answer this question, an attempt was made to provide a general principle to the lovers of the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) that according to it, they should only make the specific and Shi'a narrations the basis of their practice and belief and not choose the general narrations that have found their way into some of the Shi'a books for practice. If Allah wills.

✅By the grace of Allah, we do not have a shortage in the Shi'a narrations that have reached us through the intermediation of the pure Imams (peace be upon them) that we would need the general narrations, and the great narrational jurisprudence of the Shi'a is not comparable in any way to the general narrations. Of course, this does not mean that all general hadiths are not authentic, but what has been determined as our duty is to refer to the gate for taking the prophetic sciences, and their narrations must be presented to the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) so that their authenticity and inauthenticity are determined, and the publishers of hadith in virtual and real spaces must be careful to only deliver Shi'a hadiths to the lovers of the Ahl al-Bayt and be careful that, unfortunately, the leniency of some authors and speakers has caused the specific and general narrations to be narrated in a mixed way and without separation, and care must be taken that general hadiths are not taken and published.

اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَی مُحَمَّدٍ وَ آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ

وَ عَجِّلْ لِوَلِیِّکَ الْفَرَجَ وَ الْعَافِیَةَ وَ النَّصْرَ