“Whoever seeks knowledge from its proper source will not be misled, but whoever seeks it from fools will be led astray.”
— Jafar al-Sadiq[commonly attributed] Hadith transmitted from Ja'far in Imami collections; wording varies between sources
Commentary
This tradition sets out a principle of epistemic trust, that knowledge must be sought from qualified and reliable teachers. In the Imami view, the proper source of religious knowledge is the Imams and those who transmit their teaching faithfully, and the warning against fools reflects the community's concern to maintain doctrinal integrity. Hossein Modarressi's analysis of the formative period (1993) describes how this principle shaped the transmission and authentication of hadith in early Shi'i circles. Wilferd Madelung's work on religious authority in early Islam examines the tension between personal reason and transmitted authority that such traditions express. Heinz Halm notes that the principle later became a basis for the authority of the Imami jurists. Marshall Hodgson places the discussion within the wider debates of the eighth century over the authority of learned persons. The tradition is widely cited, but its wording differs across collections.
Commentary
This tradition sets out a principle of epistemic trust, that knowledge must be sought from qualified and reliable teachers. In the Imami view, the proper source of religious knowledge is the Imams and those who transmit their teaching faithfully, and the warning against fools reflects the community's concern to maintain doctrinal integrity. Hossein Modarressi's analysis of the formative period (1993) describes how this principle shaped the transmission and authentication of hadith in early Shi'i circles. Wilferd Madelung's work on religious authority in early Islam examines the tension between personal reason and transmitted authority that such traditions express. Heinz Halm notes that the principle later became a basis for the authority of the Imami jurists. Marshall Hodgson places the discussion within the wider debates of the eighth century over the authority of learned persons. The tradition is widely cited, but its wording differs across collections.