وليس لاحد أن يقول كيف يمكنكم العمل على هذه الاحاديث مع اختلاف الفاظها وتضاد معانيها؟ لان بعضها يتضمن ذكر القامة وبعضها يتضمن ذكر الذراع وبعضها يتضمن ذكر القدم وهذه مقادير مختلفة لان اللفظ وان اختلف فان المعاني ليست مختلفة من وجوه أحدها انا قد بينا أنه إذا زالت الشمس فقد دخل وقت الظهر الا لمن يصلي النافلة السبحة وصلاة السبحة تختلف باختلاف المصلين فمن صلى بقدر ما تصير الشمس على قدم فذلك وقته ومن صلى على ذراع فكذلك حينئذ وقته ومن صلى إلى أن تصير الشمس على قامة فذلك وقته وقد صرح بهذا أبو عبد الله عليه السلام في الخبر الذي قدمناه عن منصور بن حازم من قوله الا أنبئكم بابين من هذا ثم قَالَ:« إِذَا زَالَتِ اَلشَّمْسُ فَقَدْ دَخَلَ وَقْتُ اَلظُّهْرِ إِلاَّ أَنَّ بَيْنَ يَدَيْهَا سُبْحَةً فَإِنْ أَنْتَ خَفَّفْتَ فَحِينَ تَفْرُغُ مِنْهَا وَ إِنْ أَنْتَ طَوَّلْتَ فَحِينَ تَفْرُغُ مِنْهَا». والثاني أن يكون جميع ما تضمنت هذه الاخبار من ذكر القامة والذراع المراد به الذراع وقد بينوا عليهم السلام ذلك روى ذلك
And no one has the right to say: ‘How can you act upon these narrations when their wordings differ and their meanings seem contradictory?!’ For some of them mention a ‘qamah’ (forearm’s length), some of them mention a ‘dhira’ (arm’s length), and some mention a ‘qadam’ (foot), and these are different measures. The response is that although the wording differs, the meanings are not contradictory from several aspects. One of them is: we have already explained that when the sun passes the meridian, the time for Dhuhr has entered, except for one who wishes to perform the supererogatory prayer (‘al-subhah’). And the performance of ‘subhah’ varies according to the individuals praying. So, whoever performs it in the time it takes for the sun to reach one ‘qadam’, then that is his time; and whoever prays until it reaches one ‘dhira’, then that is his time; and whoever continues until the sun’s shadow is one ‘qamah’, then that is his time. And Abu Abdillah عليه السلام, clearly stated this in the narration which we previously mentioned from Mansur ibn Hazim, From His عليه السلام words: ‘Shall I not inform you of something clearer than this? Then Imam عليه السلام said: When the sun passes the meridian, the time for Dhuhr has entered, except that there is a supererogatory prayer before it. So if you shorten it, then the time (of Dhuhr) is when you finish it; and if you lengthen it, then the time is when you finish it.’ And the second (point): That all which these narrations contain of the mention of ‘qamah’ (standing height), ‘dhira’ (forearm), and ‘qadam’ (foot), what is meant by them is the ‘dhira’ (forearm), and they, peace be upon them, have clarified this. It was narrated:
