الكافي- ط الاسلامية, volume 1, page 33

5. Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Isa from Muhammad ibn Sinan from ’Isma‘il ibn Jabir that Abu ‘Abdillah (al-Sadiq) (as) said: 'The scholars are the trustees [of religion], the pious ones are the strongholds [of religion] and the successors (of the Prophet) are the masters [of religion].' In an another hadith it is said, 'The scholars are the light houses [of the religion], the pious ones are the strongholds [of the religion] and the successors are the masters [of the religion].'

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

6. Ahmad ibn Idris has narrated from Muhammad ibn Hassa’n from Idris ibn al-Hassan from abu Ishaq al-Kindi from Bashir al-Dahhan that Abu ‘Abdillah (al-Sadiq) (as) said: 'There is no goodness in our people who do not learn fiqh (jurisprudence), oh Bashir. Indeed, when a man from them does not suffice himself with [knowledge] of fiqh, he becomes dependent on them (i.e. the non-shias). And when he becomes dependent on them, they lead him into the door of their misguidance, and he does not know.'

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

7. Ali ibn Muhammad has narrated from Sahl ibn Ziyad from al-Nawfali from al-Sakuni that Abu ‘Abdillah (al-Sadiq) (as) narrated from his forefathers that Rasulullah (sw) said: 'There is no goodness in life except for two kinds of people, a scholar who is obeyed or an audience who listen carefully.'

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

8. Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from his father from Ibn Abi ‘Umayr and Muhammad ibn Yahya, from Ahmad ibn Muhammad from Ibn Abi ‘Umayr from Sayf ibn ‘Umayra from Abu Hamza that Abu Ja‘far (as) said: "A scholar whose knowledge benefits others is better than seventy thousand worshippers."

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

9. Al-Hassan ibn Muhammad has narrated from Ahmad ibn Ishaq from Sa‘dan ibn Muslim that Mu‘awiya ibn ‘Ammar said: "I asked Abu ‘Abdillah (al-Sadiq) (as), 'There is a man who narrates your hadiths, spreads them among people, and ties them to their hearts and the hearts of your Shi'a. Also, there is perhaps a worshipper among your Shi'a who does not have your narrations. Which of the two is better?' He said, 'The one who narrates our hadiths and ties them to the hearts of our Shi'a is better than 1,000 worshippers.'"

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

1. Ali ibn Muhammad from Sahl ibn Ziyad and Muhammad ibn Yahya from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Isa all from ibn Mahbub from abu ’Usama from Hisham ibn Salim from Abu Hamza from Abu Ishaq al-Saba'iy from a narrator he deems reliable that he heard Amir al-Mu'minin (as) say: 'After the holy Prophet people become of three kinds. One group went to a divinely well guided scholar. Allah had given him such a high degree of knowledge that made him independent of the knowledge of the others. The second group was the ignorant group, who claimed to have knowledge but in fact they had no knowledge. This was an egotist group. The worldly attractions had made them to lose sight of the truth and to mislead other people. The third group consisted of those people who learned from a divinely guided scholar who taught them for the sake of Allah and for their salvation. It then was obvious that those who claimed (to be scholars while, in fact, they were not scholars) and those who forged certain matters falsely were destroyed.'

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