Inanotherhadīth,AbiKhadījahrelatesthatImamJa‘faras-Sādiq(a.s.)
senthimtohiscompanionswiththefollowingmessage:“Ifadisputeor
adifference occursamong youabout aproperty, thentakecare not to
seekjudgmentfromthoseillegitimate[judges];instead,youmustseeka
personwhoknowswhatispermissibleandwhatisforbiddenbyus,forI
appoint himas ajudge overyou. Andtake care that youdo not seek
judgment against one another with an unjust ruler.”
TheleastthatthesetwonarrationsproveisthatShi‘asarenotallowed
to referto unauthorized juristsfor solutions totheir problems,instead
theyareadvisedtoseektheguidanceofthosewhoarewell-versedinthe
teachingsoftheAhlu’l-bayt.Intheseahādīth,thepracticeofseekingthe
advice of experts in sharī‘a laws is taken for granted.
In Practice:There are several documented casesof Shi‘as who asked
theImamsoftheirtimetoappointsomeonetoadjudicatebetweenthem
inreligiousproblems.Suchquestionswereraisedbythosewholivedfar
fromMedinaorthosewhocouldnotgainaccesstotheirImaminMed-
ina itself.