2. Follow the guidance of your Prophet for it is the truest guidance, and emulate his practices for they are the most exemplary practices.
2

3. Be cautious of exceeding the limits with regards to us; say that we are servants of our Lord, and then you may believe anything you wish about our merits.
3

4. Indeed we, the household [of the Prophet], are the doors of wisdom, the lights that dispel darkness and the illumination of the nations.
4

5. Where are you wandering and where are you coming from and where are you straying to and what are you bewildered by while you have among you the progeny of your Prophet – they who are the guides towards right and speakers of truth?
5

6. Where are those who allege that they are firmly grounded in knowledge apart from us, while they lie and transgress against us, and harbour jealousy towards us because Allah, the Glorified, elevated us and lowered them, gave us and deprived them, put us in [His proximity] and expelled them; it is through us that guidance is granted and the blindness [of ignorance] is removed, not though them!
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7. The most virtuous of good deeds is loving us and the most despicable of evil deeds is hating us.
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8. The most fortunate of all people is one who knows our merits, seeks nearness to Allah through us, is sincere in his love for us, acts on that which we have entrusted to him and keeps away from that which we have forbidden, for this person is from us and he will be with us in the Eternal Abode.
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9. The nearest of people to us is one who loyally supports us and has enmity for our enemies.
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10. Indeed, for [the proclamation:] â€کThere is none worthy of worship but Allah’ there are some conditions, and verily I and my progeny are from its conditions.
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11. Verily, the beggar is a messenger of Allah, so one who gives to him gives to Allah and one who withholds from him, withholds from Allah, the Glorified.1
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12. Verily our affair is difficult and arduous, none can bear it except the servant whose heart Allah has tested for [and filled with] faith, and nothing preserves our words except the faithful hearts and discerning minds.
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13. To us return the ones who exceed the bounds and the ones who lag behind [come forward to] meet up with us.
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14. Verily Allah, the Exalted, made an appraisal of the world and (from it) chose us, and He chose for us followers who would help us, be happy in our happiness and sad in our sadness, and give up their lives and wealth for our sake they are ones who are (considered to be) from us and unto us, and they will be with us in the gardens (of Paradise).
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15. Verily our affair is difficult and arduous, rough and harsh, secret, hidden and veiled, none have access to it except the favoured angel, the appointed prophet or the believer whose heart Allah, the Glorified, has tested for faith.
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16. Indeed here (and he pointed towards his chest) there is great knowledge; if only I could get someone who would bear it. Yes, I do find some who can understand but cannot be relied upon and would use the tools of religion for worldly gain or would dominate the people through the favours of Allah over His servants and through His authority over His friends; or [I find] one who is submissive to those who bear the truth but has no insight or intelligence, misgivings pierce into his heart at the first instance of doubt.
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17. The People of Remembrance (or followers of the Qur’an) are the People of Allah and His favoured ones.
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18. I am the allotter of hellfire, the treasurer of the gardens [of Paradise], the owner of the pond [of Kawthar] and the holder of the Elevations, and there is no Imam from among us, the household [of the Prophet], except that he knows those who are his sincere friends [and followers], and this is the meaning of the words of the Most High: â€کYou are only a warner, and there is a guide for every people’2.
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19. I am the brother of the Prophet of Allah, the first to accept Islam, the breaker of the idols, the warrior against the disbelievers and the vanquisher of adversaries.
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20. I am the one who turn this world over on its face, gauges it according to its true value and drives it back on its heels.
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21. I am the leader (yaâ€کsūb3) of the believers and wealth is the leader of the wicked.
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22. I will be with the Prophet of Allah, the blessings of Allah be upon him, and with me will be my progeny at the pond (so act upon our words and emulate our actions as we will vie at the pond [of Kawthar]), and we will verily drive away our enemies from it and let our close friends drink from it, and whoever takes a drink from it will never be thirsty after that again.
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23. I put the chests of the Arab [warriors] on the ground and broke the backs (or the protruding horns) of the tribes of Rabīâ€کah and Mu
24. ar.
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25. I am a witness for you [if you follow me] and a plaintiff against you [if you disobey me] on the Day of Judgment.
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26. I am your inviter towards the obedience of your Lord, your mentor to performing your religious obligations and your guide to that which will save you.
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27. My household and I are the [means of] security for the people of earth just as the stars are the [means of] security for the people of the heavens.
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28. I am the representative of the Prophet of Allah among you, and the one who will keep you within the boundaries of your religion, and the one who calls you towards the Garden of the Abode.
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29. Verily I am standing on a manifest proof from my Lord, insight in my religion and certitude in my affair.
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30. Verily I am on the highway of truth and they are surely on the erroneous path of falsehood.
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31. Verily it is for the establishment of the proofs of Allah that I argue and it is in order to support His religion that I struggle and fight.
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32. Indeed I raise myself such that there should be no need that my generosity cannot encompass, nor any ignorance that cannot be encompassed by my forbearance, nor any wrongdoing that my forgiveness cannot encompass, nor should there be a time that is longer than my time [spent in worship and righteous actions].
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33. Whenever I would ask the Prophet of Allah (s), he would give to me and when I was silent and did not ask, he would be the one to initiate [the matter] with me.
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34. The example of my presence among you is only like a lamp in the darkness, he who enters upon it receives its light.
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35. Certainly the Imams are the [only] vicegerents of Allah over His creation and the ones who explain His servants about Him; and none will enter Paradise except the one who recognizes them and is recognized by them and none will enter the hellfire except the one who rejects them and is rejected by them.
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36. Indeed the protectors of the religion of Allah are the only ones who establish the religion, support it, surround it from all sides and protect it for the servants of Allah and safeguard it.
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37. (In remembrance of the Prophet of Allah (s), he said): He conveyed [the message] from his Lord completely, such that nobody remained with any excuse [for not having accepted the message], he counselled his people as a warner and called [them] towards Paradise as a bringer of glad tidings.
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38. Through us you were guided in the darkness, and by us you ascended the peaks [of knowledge and faith], and by way of us did you break through the pitch-black night [into the light of day].
37

39. Through us Allah opens and through us Allah seals, through us Allah effaces and confirms whatever He wills, through us Allah removes the time of difficulty [or intense thirst and drought] and through us Allah sends down rain; so let not the Deceiver deceive you concerning Allah.
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40. Mingle with the people through that which they recognize and leave them in that which they reject, and do not burden them [by compelling them] to follow yourselves and us, for indeed our affair is difficult and arduous.
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41. He (â€کa) said about the Prophet of Allah (s): He left this world hungry but entered the next world in soundness. He did not lay one brick upon another [to make a house for himself] until he passed away and responded to the caller of his Lord.
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42. The caller is calling and the guardian is watching over you, so respond to the caller and follow the guardian.
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43. Ask me [about what you need to know] before you lose me, for verily I am more aware of the ways of the heavens than you are of the ways of the earth.
42

44. Ask me before you lose me, for by Allah, there is no verse in the Qur’an but that I know about whom it was revealed and where it was revealed, in the plains or on the mountains, and indeed my Lord has gifted me with an intelligent heart and an eloquent tongue.
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45. Remembering the Prophet of Allah (s), he (â€کa) said: His practice was moderation, his action was right guidance, his speech was distinguishing [of truth from falsehood], his judgment was just, his words were articulate and his silence was the most eloquent speech.
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46. Attach yourselves to the one who is between you and Allah, [and] you will be felicitous.
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47. Establish your bond with the one who is between you and Allah, [and] you will be felicitous in your final place of return [in the Hereafter].
46

48. Remembering the Prophet of Allah (s) he said: [He was] a physician who moved about with his remedies, having readied his salves and warmed his instruments. He used these whenever needed for curing blind hearts, deaf ears and dumb tongues. He would take his cures to the places of negligence and sites of perplexity.
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49. You should love of the progeny of your Prophet, for this is the right of Allah over you and this will obligate your right upon Allah. Do you not see that Allah has said â€کSay, I do not ask you any reward for it except love of (my) near relatives.’
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50. You must obey your Imams, for they are witnesses over you today and intercessors for you with Allah tomorrow.
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51. It is the duty of the Imam to teach the people who follow him about the boundaries of Islam and Imān (faith).
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52. The [leader and] guide must be truthful to his followers and must employ his intellect; and he must be from those who are inclined to the Hereafter, for it is from there that he came forth and to it will be his return.
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53. The riser has risen, the dazzler has dazzled, the apparent has appeared and the crooked has been straightened.4
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54. He said while remembering the Messenger of Allah (s): He belittled this world, took it lightly and treated it with disdain; he knew that Allah willed to keep it away from him while He bestowed it to others as a trial.
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55. Whenever I asked the Messenger of Allah (s), he would give to me and when I held back, he would be the one to initiate [the matter] with me.
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56. For our hatred there are waves of wrath from Allah, the Glorified.
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57. I have patched this shirt of mine so much that I am now ashamed of [taking it again to] the tailor. Someone asked me: Will you not discard it? I replied: Get away from me! Only at dawn do people speak highly of the [arduous] night journey.
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58. This world will incline towards us after having been refractory just like the wild camel inclines towards its young.
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59. I am not, nor have I ever been, intimidated by battle or frightened of being struck [by swords].
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60. If the veils were removed, my certitude would not increase.5
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61. If my feet were to rest firmly on these slippery areas, I would surely change [many] things.
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62. If we had done as you did, no pillar of the religion would be left standing and no plant of faith would grow.
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63. If I wished to inform every man from among you of where he has come from and where he is going to and about all his affairs, I would do so, but I fear that you will take me and abandon the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. However, I will convey it to the selected ones who are safe from that [fear]. By the One who sent him with truth and chose him above the creation, I do not speak save the truth. He (the Prophet) has informed me about all this and about the destruction of those who are destroyed and the salvation of those who are saved (and the consequences of this matter [of the caliphate]). He left nothing that I would encounter except that he put it into my ear and informed me about it.
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64. We have a right [to it] if it is given to us, otherwise we ride on the hinds of camels6 even if the night journey is long.
63

65. We have the right of obedience and love over the people, and for them [for this] there is a goodly reward from Allah, the Glorified.
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66. Whoever clings to us will join us.
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67. Whoever turns away from us will be annihilated.
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68. One who follows our commandments advances.
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69. One who boards other than our ship, drowns.
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70. They (i.e. the Imams) are the trustees of the secrets of the Messenger of Allah (s), the protectors of his mission, the container of his knowledge, the sanctuary of his wisdom, the caverns of his books and the mountains of his religion.
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71. They are the gems of faith and the treasures of the Most Merciful. When they speak, they are truthful and when they remain silent, they are not surpassed.
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72. They are the treasures of faith and the sources of virtue; when they judge, they do justice and when they debate, they overcome.
71

73. They are the foundation of religion and the pillar of certitude; to them return those who have exceeded the limits and those who are behind [come forward to] join them.
72

74. They are the lamps in the darkness, the springs of wisdom, the sources of knowledge and the loci of forbearance.
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75. They are the life of knowledge and the death of ignorance. Their forbearance (or wisdom) is conveyed to you from their knowledge, their silence from their speech (and their apparent from their hidden); they do not go against the truth (or the religion) nor do they differ in it, for it is among them as a silent speech and a truthful witness.
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76. Do not stray from the truth and its people, for verily whoever opts [to follow] other than us, the household [of the Prophet], perishes and loses in [both] this world and the Hereafter.
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77. The world is never devoid of an establisher of the proof of Allah, either [as an] apparent and known [person] or [as a] hidden and unknown [person], so that the proof of Allah and His message does not become void.
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78. No one from this nation can be compared to the progeny of Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and no one who has benefitted from their blessings (i.e. the blessings of their knowledge and wisdom) will ever be equal to them.
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79. People! There is no proof of Allah, the Glorified, on His earth greater than our Prophet, Muhammad (s), nor is there any wisdom more manifest than His book, the Glorious Qur’an and Allah, the Exalted, has not praised anyone from among you except he who holds fast to his rope and follows His prophet; and only he perishes, who perishes when he disobeys Him, goes against His commands and follows his vain desires. This is why the Almighty says â€ک… let those who disobey His order beware lest an ordeal should afflict them or a painful chastisement befall them.’7
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80. The one who looks with the insight of the wise sees his path of guidance (or goal) and knows its valleys and its peaks.
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81. We are the callers to truth, the leaders of creation and the speakers of truth, he who obeys us acquires [success] and he who disobeys us is destroyed.
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82. By Allah! I have never hidden a single word nor have I ever spoken a lie.
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83. By Allah! I do not hate the sudden coming of death to me, nor is it an event that I reject. I am but like a traveller who has come to his destination or a seeker who finds what he is looking for.
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84. By Allah! If I were to spend a sleepless night on the thorns of al-Saâ€کdān8 or be driven shackled in chains as a prisoner, it would be more acceptable to me than meeting Allah and His Prophet as an oppressor over any [of His] servants, or a usurper of any worldly possessions. And how can I oppress for the sake of the body which is fast moving towards destruction and is going to spend a long time [buried] in the earth?
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85. The devout companions of the Messenger of Allah (s) know that I never disobeyed Allah, the Glorified, or His Prophet for even a moment; and I supported him in situations where the valiant ones retreated and when the feet were slow in moving forward with courage – Allah honoured me with [all] this. I spared no effort in his obedience, may the blessings of Allah be upon him, and I fought his enemies with all my might, and I put my life on the line in order to protect him, and he divulged to me from his knowledge that which he did not divulge to anyone other than me.
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86. Knowledge has led them to real understanding and they have acquired the spirit of conviction. They take easy what the easygoing regard as hard. They are comfortable with that which the ignorant are repelled by. They live in this world with their bodies but their spirits are in the higher realm. They are the vicegerents of Allah on His earth and the callers to His religion. Ah, ah! How I yearn to see them.
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87. They are the supports of Islam and those entrusted with its protection. Through them the truth is restored in its rightful place and falsehood is removed from its position with its tongue is severed from its root. They have understood religion through reflection and contemplation, not by mere hearsay and [blind following of] what is narrated.
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88. Verily we are the masters of speech; in us its offshoots (or veins) are fixed and its branches hang over us.
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89. The chain of delusion will never be severed until the rising of the [Imam of the] avenger of the age.
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90. We are the door of â€کḤiṭṭah’ which is the door of peace; one who enters it is safe and secure, whereas one who turns away from it is destroyed.
89

91. We are the middle cushion which is joined by those who remain behind and to which those who have exceeded the limits return.
90

92. We are the trustees of Allah over His servants and the establishers of truth in His lands. Through us the friend [of Allah] is saved and by us the enemy is destroyed.
91

93. We are the [family] tree of Prophethood, the station of revelation, the ones upon whom angels descend, the fountains of wisdom and the sources of knowledge. Our helpers and lovers await mercy while our enemies and haters await wrath.
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94. We are the nearest ones [to the Prophet (s)], the companions, the custodians [of the treasures of Paradise] and the doors [of knowledge and wisdom]; and houses are not entered but through their doors, and whoever enters them without going through their doors is [considered] a thief and is not spared punishment.
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95. Far be it! If there was no command of piety, I would have been the most cunning of all the Arabs.
94

96. I have never rejected Allah from the time that I came to know Him.
95

97. I have never doubted in the truth since the time it was shown to me.
96

98. I have never lied nor have I been accused of lying.
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99. I have never strayed [from the right path] nor has anyone gone astray because of me.
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100. No verse [of the Qur’an] was revealed but that I knew the occasion of its revelation and where it was revealed, [whether] in daytime or night, on a mountain or a plain; and my Lord has gifted me with an intelligent heart and an eloquent tongue.
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101. We have established the pillar of truth and vanquished the forces of falsehood.
1. This tradition falls under the subject of giving charity.
2. Surah al-Ra’d [13]:7
3. A male bee which is followed by the other bees.
4. Part of the sermon was delivered after he became the Khalifa.
5. Because he had already reached the peak of certitude.
6. An expression that conveys humility as it was only slaves and prisoners who would ride on the hinds of camels.
7. Al-Noor [24]:63
8.This is a plant with sharp prickles.