Sheikh Abu Ja’far, Muhammed bin Ali bin Hussain bin Musa bin Babawayh, the jurist, al-Qommi, the visitor of Ray, the compiler of this book, may Allah be pleased with him and sanctify his soul: 1. We were told by my father, and Muhammed bin Hasan bin Ahmad bin Waleed, may Allah be pleased with them both, that they both said: We were told by Sa’d bin Abdullah, and Abdullah bin Ja’far al-Himyari, and Ahmad bin Idrees, and Muhammed bin Yahya al-‘Attar, may Allah grant them mercy, that they said: We were told by Ahmad bin Muhammed bin Khalid, that he said: We were told by Ali bin Hassaan al-Wasiti, from the one he mentioned, from Dawud bin Farqad, that he said: I heard Abu Abdillah, peace be upon him, say: You are the most knowledgeable of the people if you were to know the meanings of our words. Verily, a word does indeed turn to several indications. If a person wishes, he may turn his words however he wishes, whilst not lying.
Le cheikh Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Ali ibn al-Husayn ibn Musa ibn Babawayh al-Faqih al-Qummi, résident de Rayy, l'auteur de ce livre - qu'Allah soit satisfait de lui et sanctifie son âme - nous a informés, ainsi que Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ibn Ahmad ibn al-Walid - qu'Allah soit satisfait d'eux deux - qui ont dit: Saad ibn Abdullah, Abdullah ibn Ja'far al-Humayri, Ahmad ibn Idris, et Muhammad ibn Yahya al-Atar - qu'Allah leur fasse miséricorde - nous ont rapporté, d'après Ahmed ibn Muhammad ibn Khalid qui a dit: Ali ibn Hassan al-Wasiti nous a informés, de la part de celui qu'il a mentionné, de Dawud ibn Farqad qui a dit: J'ai entendu Abu Abdullah - que la paix soit sur lui - dire: "Vous êtes les plus compréhensifs des gens si vous comprenez les significations de nos paroles. Certes, la parole peut être interprétée de différentes manières. Si un homme le souhaite, il peut interpréter ses paroles comme il le souhaite sans mentir."
