الكافي- ط الاسلامية, volume 1, page 193

4. Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Muhammad Ibn Husayn from al-Nadr ibn Shu‘ayb from Muhammad ibn al-Fudayl from abu Hamza who has said that he heard Imam Abu Ja’far (a.s.) say: “The Messenger of Allah (sw) said that Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, said: "The completion of My proof against the wretched ones of your nation lies in their abandonment of the authority (wilāyah) of ʿAlī and the successors after you. For within them is your tradition and the tradition of the prophets before you. They are the keepers of My knowledge after you." Then the Messenger of Allah (sw) said: "Indeed, Jibrīl (AS) informed me of their names and the names of their fathers."

Translation: Muhammad Sarwar — attributed by Thaqalayn·The Arabic above is the original.

5. Ahmad ibn Idris has narrated from from Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Jabbar from Muhammad ibn Khalid from Fudaala ibn Ayyub from ‘Abdullah ibn Abu Ya‘fur who has said that Imam Abu ‘Abdullah (a.s.) said the following. “O son of Abi Ya'fur, indeed Allah is One, unique in His Oneness. He alone issues His command. He created a creation and appointed and measured them for that command (Amr, task). So, we, O son of Abu Ya‘fur, are that creation. We are the authority of Allah among His servants, the treasurers of His knowledge, and the guardians of it.”

Translation: Muhammad Sarwar — attributed by Thaqalayn·The Arabic above is the original.

6. Ali ibn Muhammad has narrated from Sahl ibn Ziyad from Musa ibn al-Qasim ibn Mu‘awiya and Muhammad ibn Yahya from al-‘Amrakiy ibn Ali altogether from Ali ibn Ja’far from abu al-Hassan Musa (a.s.) who has said the following. “Imam abu ‘Abdallah (a.s.) has said, ‘Allah, the Most Holy, the Most High, created us and He made our creation the best. He formed us and made our the best. He made us the treasurers of in His heavens and His earth. For us the tree spoke and with our worship Allah, the Most Holy, the Most High, is worshipped. Had we not been in existence Allah would have been worshipped.”

Translation: Muhammad Sarwar — attributed by Thaqalayn·The Arabic above is the original.

1. Al-Husayn ibn Muhammad al-Ash‘ari has narrated from Mu‘alla ibn Muhammad from Ahmad ibn Muhammad from abu Mas‘ud from al-Ja’fari who has said that he heard abu al-Hassan al-Rida (a.s.) say the following. “ The Imams (a.s.) are the deputies of Allah, the Most Holy, the Most High, on earth.”

Translation: Muhammad Sarwar — attributed by Thaqalayn·The Arabic above is the original.

2. Mu‘alla has narrated from Muhammad ibn Jumhur from Sulayman ibn Suma‘a from ‘Abdallah ibn al-Qasim from abu Basir who has said that Imam abu ‘Abdallah (a.s.) said the following. “The successors (of the holy Prophet (s.a.) are the gates to Allah, the Most Holy, the Most High, through which people go to Him. Had they not existed, Allah, the Most Holy, the Most High, would not have been recognized. Allah, the Most Holy, the Most High, will present these successors as evidence against His creatures.”

Translation: Muhammad Sarwar — attributed by Thaqalayn·The Arabic above is the original.

3. Al-Husayn ibn Muhammad has narrated from Mu‘alla ibn Muhammad from al-Washsha’ from ‘Abdallah ibn Sinan who has said that he asked abu ‘Abdallah (a.s.) about the meaning of the following verse of the Holy Quran. “God has promised the righteously striving believers to appoint them as His deputies on earth, as He had appointed those who lived before. . .” (24:55) The Imams (a.s.) said, “The people referred to in this verse are the Imams (a.s.).”

Translation: Muhammad Sarwar — attributed by Thaqalayn·The Arabic above is the original.