HOW TO RANK SHIAS...... HADEES

Abu Ja`far (al-Baqir) [a] said: O’ my son, recognize the ranks of Shi`a according to the amount of our narrations (they know) and their understanding thereof. And indeed this understanding is his cognizance of the narration. And through cognizance of the narrations the believer rises to the highest level of faith. Indeed when I glanced upon the Book of `Ali – upon whom be peace – I found therein: Indeed every man’s worth and importance is his ma`rifah (understanding). Allah, the Blessed and High, judges man according to the level of intellect accorded to him in this world. 3 - Ja`far b. Muhammad b. Masroor – may Allah be pleased with him – narrated from Husayn b. Muhammad b. `Amir, from the uncle of `Abdullah b. `Amir, from Muhammad b. Abi `Umayr, from Ibrahim Karkhi, from Abi `Abdillah (al-Sadiq) [a], who said: To understand one hadith is better than narrating a thousand. It is not possible for any man among you to be a faqeeh (thoroughly versed in knowledge of Islamic affairs) until he recognizes the different interpretations of our words. For indeed every word from our sayings can be interpreted in seventy different ways, and each of these ways is available for us to express ourselves.