Authenticity of the ahadith in kutub al arba and rest of our primary texts

الهداية - الشيخ الصدوق  

Al Hidaya by Shaikh Saduq (ra)

مقدمة لجنة التحقيق - مؤسسة الإمام الهادي عليه السلام

Preface by group of researchers from the Imam Hadi Foundation

 أن جميع علماء الإمامية أجمعوا على اعتبار الكتب الأربعة واعتمادها والعمل بها والشهادة بكونها منقولة من الأصول الأربعمائة المجمع عليها المعروضة على الأئمة عليهم السلام كما صرح به الشهيد الثاني والشيخ بهاء الدين في درايتهما (٢

٢ - الوجيزة في الدراية للشيخ البهائي رحمه الله: ١٦ و ١٧، والدراية للشهيد الثاني: ١٧

  All the Shia Imami scholars consented upon reliability of the kutub al Arba (the four primary ahadith books of Shias), and trusting and acting on them, and the testimony of their having been sourced from the four hundred consented upon usool (original books of ahadith compiled by companions of the Imams) which had been presented to the Imams (for verification), as stated by Shahid al Thani and Shaikh Bahai in their books* on Dirayah (Study of analysis of ahadith).

* Those books are Al Wajizah fi Ilm al Dirayah (pages 16 and 17) by Shaikh Bahai and Al Ria'yah fi Ilm al Dirayah (page 17) by Shahid al Thani.


Shaikh Hurr al Amili says:

وسائل الشيعة (آل البيت) للحر العاملي (1104 هـ) الجزء30 صفحة264

Wasail al Shia of Shaikh Hurr al Amil (1104 AH) Volume 30 Page 264

الحادي والعشرون

أن أصحاب الكتب الأربعة ، وأمثالهم ، قد شهدوا بصحة أحاديثكتبهم ، وثبوتها ، ونقلها من الأصول المجمع عليها

فان كانوا ثقاتا : تعين قبول قولهم ، وروايتهم ، ونقلهم ، لأنه شهادة بمحسوس

وإن كانوا غير ثقات : صارت أحاديث كتبهم ـ كلها ـ ضعيفة ، لضعف مؤلفيها ، وعدم ثبوت كونهم ثقات ، بل ظهور تسامحهم ، وتساهلهم في الدين ، وكذبهم في الشريعة .
واللازم باطل ، فالملزوم مثله 
 

The twenty first (point is) that the authors of the four books, and their likes, have testified by the authenticity of ahadith in their books, and their soundness, and their extraction from the usool consented upon.

So if they were trustworthy: Acceptance of their saying, and their narration, and their naql (quotation) is established, because it is a testimony with material.

And if they were not trustworthy: Ahadith in their books, all of them, become da'eef (weak/unreliable), due to dha'f (weakness/unreliability) of their compilers, and lack of proof that they were trustworthy. Rather, it shows their laxness and their slacking in the religion, and their lies in shari'a, and (this assumption) is necessarily false, so becomes necessary for similar to it.

الاِيقاظ مِنَ الهجْعَةِ بالبرهان على الرجعة للحر العاملي (1104 هـ) صفحة65

 Al Iqadh min al Huj'ah bil Burhan 'ala al raj'ah by Shaikh Hurr al Amili (1104 AH) (ra), Page 65

 أقول : والأحاديث في ذلك كثيرة جدّاً قد تجاوزت حدّ التواتر ، وقد نقل جماعة من عظماء العلماء الإجماع على ذلك ، ويستفاد بالتتبّع والإستقراء أنّهم كانوا يكتبون ما يسمعونه من أهل العصمة ( عليهم السلام ) بأمرهم ، ويعرضون كلّ ما يشكّون في صحّته من حديث أو كتاب عليهم ، وأنّهم جمعوا أربعمائة كتاب سمّوها اُصولاً ، وأجمعوا على صحّتها ، فكانوا لا يعملون إلا بها ، ولا يرجعون إلا إليها ، وذلك بأمر الأئمّة ( عليهم السلام ).
    وإنّ الكتب الأربعة وأمثالها مأخوذة من تلك الاُصول ، فكلّ حديث منها مجمع على ثبوته عن المعصوم ، وكلّ كتاب منها متواتر عن مؤلّفه ، وتحقيق هذه المقدّمات يظهر لمن طالع كتاب « الفوائد المدنيّة » وأمثاله

I (translator's note: i.e. Shaikh Hurr al Amili) say: And the ahadith on that are too many and have surpassed the limit of tawatur. And a group from the great scholars has quoted a consensus upon that (translator's note: on raj'ah), and it is deduced by investigation and induction that they (translator's note: companions of the Imams) would write what was heard from the infallibles (as) by their order. And they would present everything, from a hadith or book, that was doubtful in its authenticity to them (translator's note: i.e. to the Imams), and that they collected four hundred books containing in them the usool. And they consented upon their authenticity, so they would not act except on them and not refer except to them, and that was by the command of the Imams (as). And indeed the kutub al arba (translator's note: the four primary shia books) and their likes are sourced from these usool, so every hadith in them is collected upon proof from the infallible and every book among them is mutawatir (in tareeq) to its compiler. And the research in these prefaces would be clear to one who studies "Al Fawaid al Madaniya" and its like.