1. My father that Sa`d ibn `Abd Allah said: Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn `Isa on the authority of Husayn ibn Sa`id on the authority of Fudalah ibn Ayyub on the authority of Aban ibn `Uthman on the authority of Muhammad ibn Muslim that Abu `Abd Allah al-Sadiq said: "Verily, Allah, the Mighty and High created a creation from His own Light and a mercy from His Mercy. Hence, they are the Eye through which Allah sees, the Ear through which Allah listens, and the Tongue through which Allah speaks His Will. They are the Guardians of His Revelation which He sends down as a mercy, a warning and a proof. Hence, He wipes out their sins, removes injustice from them, sends down mercy from them, gives life to the deceased from them, kills the living for them, tries His Creation through them, and fulfils the needs of His Creation through them." I asked, “May I be sacrificed for you! Who are these?” He said: “The successors (of Muhammad).”