An Analysis of the Meaning of the 'Reports of Subjection' and an Examination of Their Practical Application in Identifying Fabricated Reports

The present article investigates the scope of applicability of the 'Reports of Subjection' (aḥādīth ʿarḍ) in determining the origin (ṣudūr), signification (dilālah), and true intention (jahat) of reports in the corpus of tradition. We cite verses of the Qur'an in examining the possibility of relying on the Qur'an in determining the authenticity of the reports in the corpus of tradition. The conclusion we arrive at is that the Qur'an cannot help in determining with certainty if a given report is authentic, in the sense of having indisputably originated in an infallible Imam of the Shiʻa faith; but it can help us conclude with confidence whether a dubious report is inauthentic. Another way in which the contents of the verses of the Qur'an can be brought to bear on the study of the reports in the corpus of tradition is in ascertaining the true intent underlying the content of a given report and the genuine meaning intended by the authority the report is purportedly quoting. Drawing on the example of the Imams in how they would invoke the Qur'an in assessing a report in the corpus of tradition, we are led to a set of parameters that we describe as 'the Qur'anic elements bearing on the verificatory process of subjecting the reports in the corpus of tradition to the Qur'an', which can effectively guide the researcher in how to proceed in ascertaining the authenticity of a given report with recourse to the Qur'an. The 'Qur'anic elements' we have enumerated are (1) the authority of the standard manuscript of the Qur'an, (2) the authority of the standard pronunciational format of the Qur'an, (3) the occasion and environment of revelation of the Qur'anic verses, (4) the time and sequence of revelation of the Qur'anic verses, (5) the context (sīyāq) of a given Qur'anic verse, (6) the apparent signification (sibāq) of a given Qur'anic verse, and (7) the multiple significations inferable from a given Qur'anic verse. The latter three are the most practically useful elements in the exercise of 'subjecting' the reports of the corpus of tradition to the Qur'an.