Interpretation

As demonstrated by the examples quoted above, Ja'far al-Sadiq's legal approach was to understand the text in its context by using lexical semantics, and to apply hermeneutics to turn a ruling issued for a specific case into a general principle and thereby allow it to cover all cases that share a clear common denominator with the original ruling.

For Ja'far al-Sadiq, the plain meaning of a text was the valid one. This was what the text stood for, what the speaker meant to say, and the message that he intended to convey. Any claim to a different meaning had to establish beyond doubt why the speaker used language in a way that did not corre­spond with its plain meaning.

قبل لأبي عبد هللا: روي عنكم أن الخمر والقسروالأنصاب والأزلام زجال؟ فقال: ما كان هللا يخاطب خلعه بما لأ يعقلون.^[740]

It was said to Abu 'Abd Allah that it has been reported that you [mem­bers of the House of the Prophet] hold that khamr, maysir, ansab, and azlam [the sins and evils mentioned in Qur'an 5:90] are [references to certain] people. He replied, “God would not address His creation with what they could not comprehend.”

As for his use of semantic and hermeneutic techniques, the following examples are illuminating. The first one concerns Qur'an 4:23, which sets the rule for those within the prohibited degree of affinity for marriage: “Forbidden to you are...

إسحاق بن عقار عن جعفر بن محمد: الربائب علكم حرم مع الأمهات اللافي قد دخلتم بهرن. هدل في الخجوروغيرالحجورسواء. والأمهات مبهمات: دخل باينات أم لم يدخل بهرن. فخرموا وأبهموا ما أبهم هللا.^[741]

[Ishaq b. 'Ammar:] Ja'far b. Muhammad said, “Stepdaughters from the mothers with whom you have consummated marriage are unlawful to you regardless of whether they are in your care. As for the ‘moth­ers [of your wives],' however, the word is unqualified; [the prohibition applies] regardless whether you have consummated marriage with the daughters. So, consider mothers [of wives] forbidden altogether. Leave vague what God has left vague.”

The point is further explained in a statement from Ja'far's father:

أبوحمزة الثمالي قال: سألت أبا جعفرعن رجل تزوج امراة وطلعها قبل أن بتدخل بها، أتحل ل ابتها؟ قال: لا بأس به٠ إن هللا يقول: رززتا يبكم اللأى ى حجورم من نئاهم اللأى دخليم بهن فإن قم تفودوا دخليم بهن فال جتاخ غلئكه٠ ولو تتزوج الابدة ?ناً طلعها قبل أن يدخل بها لم تحل ل أمها.

[Abu Hamza al-Thumal] I asked Abu Ja'far about a man who marries a woman and divorces her before consummating the marriage with her. Is her daughter lawful for him? He said, “There is nothing wrong with that.^[743] God, the Exalted, says: ‘[Among women not lawful as marriage partners are] the stepdaughters in your care, born of your wives with whom you have consummated marriage, but if you have not consum­mated marriage with them, there is no blame on you.' But if he marries the daughter and then divorces her before consummating marriage with her, her mother is not lawful for him.” I said, “Are they not the same?” He said, “No! The one thing is not like the other. God says, ‘The mothers of your wives.' He did not make an exception in this case like He imposed a condition in the other. This case is unqualified; it does not have a condition, whereas the other case does have a condition.”

زرارة عن أى عبد هللا قال: لا يرجع الرجل فيما يهب لامرأته ولا المرأة فيما تهب لزوجها، حيز- أم لم تحز٠ أليس هللا تبارك وتعالى يقول: بوولاتحل لكم أن ئأخذوا مما آيئموهن شيئاه وقال: زفان طبرى لكم عن سى؛ منه شئا فكلوه قبيئا مريغات؟ وهذا يدخل فى الصداق والهبة,^[744]

[Zurara:] Abu 'Abd Allah said, “A man should not take back what he gifts to his wife, nor a woman what she gifts to her husband, whether or not the gift is already possessed by the other.

زررة عن أبي عبد هللا أئه قال في الصيد: ما خلاالكلاب متئا يصيد — الفهود والصقور وأشباه ذلك — فلا تأكلن من صيده إلا ما أدركت ذكاته، لأن هللا عز وجل قال: أسبوعاً طوافى الغريضة بم سى بحة الصقا والمروة أربعة أشواط بم غمزه بطنه فخرج فقغى حاجته بم غشي أهله. قال: يفتسل بم يعود فيطوفى^[757] ثلاثة أشواط ويستفقرره ولاسيء عله.

[Ubayd b. Zurara:] I asked Abu 'Abd Allah about a man who performs [as part of the hajj] the obligatory circumambulation around the House [of God, the Kba] seven times [as required]. He then performs the say between the mounds of Safa and Marwa for four times. His stomach then signals to him, so he goes to answer the call of nature and then engages his wife. He said, “He must undertake a full-body washing, resume the say for three cycles, and ask his Lord for forgive­ness, and he is not liable for anything.” I said, “What if he performed four cycles of the obligatory circumambulation around the House, and then his stomach signaled to him, so he went to answer the call of nature and then engaged his wife?” He said, “His hajj is invalidated; he must offer a sacrifice, undertake a full-body washing, resume cir- cumambulation for seven rounds, perform the say, and ask his Lord for forgiveness.” I said, “How is it that you do not require him to offer a sacrifice when he engages his wife before finishing the say, but you require him to offer a sacrifice when he engages his wife before completing the circumambulation?” He said, “The circumambulation is an obligation and there is a prayer attached to it, but say is a rite established by the Messenger of God (may God's prayer and peace be upon him and his Family).” I said, “Does God not say, 'Safa and Marwa are among the rituals set by God'?”^[759] He said, “Yes, but He says about them, 'And whoever does good voluntarily, then God is Thankful, Knowing.' If the say were obligatory, He would not say, 'whoever does good voluntarily.'”^[760]

أبوأدوب قال: قلت لأبي عبد الله: إنا نريد أن نتعجل السير — وكانت ليهل النغرحين سألنه - فآي ساعة تتغر؟ فقال: لا تتغروا ني ايوم الياني حى تزول الشمس، فأما ايوم اليالت فإذا ابتضت الشمس فانغروا على ركة لله. فإن لله جل ثناؤه يقول: جمن ئقجل,ني يومنن فالابم عيهه فلو سكت لم تبق أحد إلا نفجل ولكثله قال: وأقرت عند إمام المسلمين بأنها زانية وأن وهلها ذلك من الزنا، وأن ذلك الوهل نشأ حى صار رجال، فافزى عله رجل فكم تجهل من افزى عليه؟ قال: تجهل ولاتجهل. قلتت: كيف تجهل ولانجدل؟ قال: من قال»يا ودل الزنا« لانجدل، إنا يعر وهودون الحتا، ومن قال «باين الزانزة« جدل الحد تانا. قلمى: وكيف صارهكذا؟ قال: لأدل إذا قال «بتا ودل الزنا« فقد صدق فيه، وإذا قال «ياين الزانية« جدل الحد تاما لغريته علها بعد اظهارها التوبة وإقامة الإمام علها الحد.^[763]

[Ismal al-Hashimi:] Regarding the situation of a woman who forni­cated and then gave birth to a child, and admitted to the ruler of the Muslims that she is a fornicator and that her child was the product of fornication; the child then grows up to become a man and someone slanders him—how many lashes should the slanderer receive? Abu 'Abd Allah said, “He will be lashed and he will not be lashed.” I said, “How is he both lashed and not lashed?” He said, 'Whoever says, ‘O child of fornication,' is not lashed, but is given a discretionary pun­ishment that is less than the hadd punishment [of eighty lashes]. And whoever says ‘O child of a fornicator' is lashed according to the full hadd punishment.” I said, “How is that so?” He said, “Because if he says, ‘O child of fornication,' he has spoken the truth [and thus is not punished with the hadd]. But if he says, ‘O child of a fornicator' he is lashed according to the full hadd punishment because he has slan­dered her [that is, the mother] after she manifested her repentance and the ruler applied the hadd punishment to her.”^[764]

Ja'far's father, Muhammad al-Baqir, applied the same methods—using semantic and hermeneutic techniques—in his legal interpretation, as the following examples demonstrate:

زررة قال: قلت لأبي جعفر: ألانجبرني من أين علمت وت إن المسح يعض الراس ويعض الرجلين ؟ فقال: بنا زررة.١ قال رسول هللا — صلى هللا عله وآل وسلم — ونزل به الكتاب من هللا. لأن هللا عزوجل قال: «زفاغيلوا وجوئكه. فعرفتا أن الوجه كهل ينبي أن يفسل، بم قال: عزوعم إلى المترافى^ فوصل ابيدين إلى المرفقين بالوجه فعرفتا أنه ينبى لهما أن ينسلاإلى المرفقين، بم فضل الكلام فقال: ^زؤامشحوا وسكه> فعرفتا حين قال ز وسكه> أتن المسح ببعض الرأس، لمكان الباء، بم وصل الرحلين بالرأس - كما وصل اليدين بالوجه - فقال: “إوأرجلكم إلى الكفبس^ فعرفتا حين وصلها بالرأس أن المسح على بعضها. غمل فترذلك رسول هللا — صلى هللا عليه وآل وسلم — للتاس فضيعوه.^[765]

[Zurara:] I said to Abu Ja'far, 'Will you tell me from where you learned to say that wiping [in ritual ablution] applies to part of the head and part of the feet?” He said, “O Zurara! The Messenger of God (may God's prayer and peace be upon him and his Family) said it, and it was revealed by God in the Book. God, the Mighty and Majestic, said, ‘Wash your faces,'^[766] so we learned that the entirety of the face must be washed. Then He said, ‘and your hands up to your elbows,' and he linked the arms up to the elbows to the face, so we learned that they must be washed up to the elbows. Then there is a disconnect in the speech; He said, ‘and wipe over your heads,' so we learned when he said 'over your heads' that wip­ing applied to part of the head due to the “over” (bag preposition.^[767] He linked the feet to the head, just as he linked the arms to the face, saying, ‘and your feet up to the ankles.' By linking feet to the head, we learned that wiping applied to part of them. This was explained by the Messen­ger of God (may God's prayer and peace be upon him and his Family) to the people, but they forgot it.”

زررة ومحمد ين مسلم قالا: قلنا لأبي جعفر: ما لتقول ى الصلاة ى السفر؟ كيف ي وكم ي؟ قال: إدن لله نعالى!:قول: خززإذا قزم ى الأرض فيس عليكم جئاح أدن ثقعزوا من الصلاه، قصارالتقصيرى السفر واجبا كوجوب التمام ى الحضر« قلنا: إتما قال: for whomsoever He wills'?^[773] The true believers are those whose deeds are multiplied.”

زررة عن أبي جعفر قال: لا ينبني,نكاح أهل الكتاب. قلت: جعلت فداك! وأين تحريمه؟ قال: قول [نغالى]: »ولايمسكوا مقمم الكوافر«.^[774]

[Zurara:] Abu Jafar said, “One should not marry the People of the Book.” I said, “May I be made your ransom! Where is the prohibition stated?” He said, “His, the Exalted, saying, And hold not to the ties of disbelievers.'”^[775]

IV.