2. We were told by my father, may Allah grant him mercy, that he said: We were told by Muhammed bin Ahmad bin Ali bin Silt, from Abdullah bin Silt, from Yunus bin Abdul-Rahman, from those he mentioned, from Ubaidullah bin Halabi, from Abu Abdillah, peace be upon him, that he said: The Straight Path is the Commander of the Believers, Ali, peace be upon him.

3. We were told by Ahmad bin Ali bin Ibrahim bin Hashim, may Allah grant him mercy, that he said: We were told by my father, from my grandfather, from Hammad bin Isa, from Abu Abdillah, peace be upon him, with regards to the saying of Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He: «Guide us the Straight Path» (1:5). He said: It is the Commander of the Believers, peace be upon him, and conscious knowledge of him, and the proof that it is the Commander of the Believers, peace be upon him, is His saying, Exalted and Glorious is He: «And indeed, he is in the Foundation of the Book, for us, certainly, Ali, the wise.» (43:4) [1] And it is the Commander of the Believers, peace be upon him, in the Foundation of the Book, in His saying, Exalted and Glorious is He: «Guide us the Straight Path».

4. We were told by Muhammed bin Qasim al-Esterabadi, the Exegetist, that he said: I was told by Yusuf bin Muhammed bin Ziyad, and Ali bin Muhammed bin Sayyar, from their fathers, from Hasan bin Ali bin Muhammed bin Ali bin Musa bin Ja’far bin Muhammed bin Ali bin Hussain bin Ali bin Abi Talib, peace be upon them, with regards to His saying: «Guide us the Straight Path», that he said: Maintain to us Your success by which we have obeyed You in the past of our days that we might obey you, likewise, in the future of our ages. The Straight Path is two Paths: a Path in this world, and a Path in the Hereafter. As for the Straight Path in this world, it is what has shortened beneath exaggeration, arisen above short-coming and become straight by which it does not deviate to anything of falsehood. As for the other Way, it is the Way of the believers to Paradise, which is straight; they do not deviate from Paradise to the Fire, nor to other than the Fire, but to Paradise. He said: Ja’far bin Muhammed al-Sadiq, peace be upon them both, said with regards to His saying, Exalted and Glorious is He: «Guide us the Straight Path». He said: He says: Direct us to the Straight Path, direct us to adherence to the Way that leads to Your love, the transmitter to Your Religion and the impediment from making us follow our desires, lest we become impaired, or making us follow our opinion, lest we perish. Then he, peace be upon him, said: Indeed, the one who follows his desire and is admired by his own opinion, will be like a man whom I have heard the populace’s waste material magnify and ridicule. I wanted to meet him in a manner that he does not recognize me, that I might see his value and position. I saw that he was surrounded by many people from the populace’s waste material, and I stood in withdrawal from them, covered with a veil, looking at him and them, and he continued to elude them until he went in an opposing direction, separated from them and did not stay, after which the populace dispersed from him to their needs. I followed him, tracing his steps, and he did not stay but that he passed by a baker, distracted him and took from his shop two loafs in theft, and so I was amazed by him, and then I said in myself: Perhaps it was a transaction? Then after it, he passed by an owner of pomegranates, and he remained with him until he distracted him and took from him two pomegranates in theft, and so I was amazed by him, and then I said in myself: Perhaps it was a transaction? Then I said: What need does he have for theft then? I kept following him until he passed by an ill person and placed the two loafs and the two pomegranates between his hands and went. I followed him until he dwelled in an area of the desert, and I said to him: O servant of Allah, I have heard of you and wanted to meet you, and so I saw you, but I saw from you what distressed my heart, and I will ask you about it, so that the distress of my heart vanishes. He said: What is it? I said: I saw you passing by a baker and you stole two loafs from him, then by the owner of pomegranates and you stole two pomegranates from him. He said: Then he said to me: Before everything, tell me, who are you? I said: A man from the sons of Adam, peace be upon him, from the nation of Muhammed, Allah’s blessings be upon him and his Family. He said: Tell me, who are you? I said: A man from the Household of Allah’s Messenger, Allah’s blessings be upon him and his Family. He said: Where is your country? I said: Medina. He said: Perhaps you are Ja’far bin Muhammed bin Ali bin Hussain bin Ali bin Abi Talib, Allah’s blessings be upon them? I said: Sure. Then he said to me: So what does the nobility of your origin benefit you with your ignorance of what you have been honored with and your abandonment of the knowledge of your grandfather and father with regards to not rebuke that whose doer must be praised and commended for? I said: What is it? He said: The Qur’an, the Book of Allah! I said: What thing have I been ignorant of from it? He said: The saying of Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He: «Whoever comes with a good deed, will have ten the likes thereof, and whoever comes with a misdeed, will not be rewarded except the like thereof» (6:160) When I stole the two loafs, they were two misdeeds, and then I stole the two pomegranates, they were two misdeeds. So, these are four misdeeds, and when I gave each one of them as charity, I had forty good deeds with them. So, reduce from the forty good deeds, four, due to four misdeeds, and it remains to me thirty six good deeds. I said: May your mother mourn you! You are the ignorant of the Book of Allah. Have you not heard that He, Exalted and Glorious is He, says: «He only accepts from the godfearing» (5:27)? When you stole two loafs, they were two misdeeds, and when you stole two pomegranates, they were also two misdeeds, and when you gave them to other than their owners without the order of their owners, then you would only have added four misdeeds onto four misdeeds, and you would not have added forty good deeds onto four misdeeds. Then he kept glancing at me, so I went and left him. Al-Sadiq, peace be upon him, said: With such a horrid, disliked, interpretation they are aberrated and they aberrate. This is similar to the interpretation of Mu’awiya, may Allah curse him, when Ammar bin Yasir, may Allah grant him mercy, was killed, the shoulders flanks of many people shivered and they said: The Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be upon him and his Family, said: Ammar will be killed by the transgressing faction. Therein, Amru entered into Mu’awiya, may Allah curse him, and said: O Commander of the Believers, the people have become agitated and disordered. He said: Why? He said: The killing of Ammar. Then Mu’awiya, may Allah curse him, said: The killing of Ammar, then what? He said: Did not Allah’s Messenger, Allah’s blessings be upon him and his Family [2], say: Ammar will be killed by the transgressing faction? Then Mu’awiya, may Allah curse him, said to him: You are revoked with your saying. Did we kill him? He was only killed by Ali bin Abi Talib when he threw him between our spears! Then this reached Ali bin Abi Talib, peace be upon him, and he said: Hence, the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be upon him and his Family, would have been the one who killed Hamza when he threw him between the spears of the polytheists! Then al-Sadiq, peace be upon him, said: Tuba [3] is for those who are like the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be upon him and his Family, said: This knowledge will be carried from every successor, by an enemy of him, and they will negate from it the alteration of the exaggerators, the assumption of the undue and the interpretation of the ignorant ones.

5. We were told by my father, may Allah grant him mercy, that he said: We were told by Ali bin Ibrahim bin Hashim, from his father, from Muhammed bin Sinan, from Mufaddal bin Umar, that he said: I was told by Thabit al-Thumali, from the Master of Worshippers, Ali bin Hussain, peace be upon them both, that he said: There is not, between Allah and His Proof, a veil, and so, there is not for Allah any cover before His Proof. We are the Gates of Allah, and we are the Straight Path, and we are Bag of His Knowledge, and we are the Interpreters of His Revelation, and we are the Pillars of His Oneness, and we are the Place of His Secret.

6. We were told by my father, may Allah grant him mercy, that he said: I was told by Sa’d bin Abdullah, from Ibrahim bin Hashim, from Ubaidullah bin Musa al-‘Absi, from Sa’d bin Turayf, from Abu Ja’far, peace be upon him, that he said: The Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be upon him and his Family: O Ali, when the Day of Resurrection shall be, I, you and Jibra’eel will sit upon the Path, and none will pass except for those who have a book that includes the acquittal of your befriendship.

7. We were told by Hasan bin Muhammed bin Sa’eed al-Hashimi, that he said: We were told by Furat bin Ibrahim al-Kufi, that he said: I was told by Muhammed bin Hasan bin Ibrahim, that he said: We were told by Alwan bin Muhammed, that he said: We were told by Hannan bin Sudayr, from Ja’far bin Muhammed, peace be upon them both, that he said: The saying of Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He, in al-Hamd [1]: «The Path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor» (1:7) means: Muhammed and his Progeny, Allah’s blessings be upon them.

8. We were told by Hasan bin Muhammed bin Sa’eed al-Hashimi, that he said: We were told by Furat bin Ibrahim, that he said: We were told by Ubaid bin Kathir, that he said: I was told by Muhammed bin Marwan, that he said: We were told by Ubaid bin Yahya bin Mahran al-‘Attar, that he said: We were told by Muhammed bin Hussain, from his father, from his grandfather, that he said: The Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be upon him and his Family, with regards to the saying of Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He: «The Path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not the path of those upon whom is the anger, nor those who are mislead.» (1:7) He said: The Shi’a of Ali, peace be upon him, upon whom You have bestowed with the Divine Authority of Ali bin Abi Talib, peace be upon him. He was not angry at them, nor did were they mislead.

9. We were told by Muhammed bin Qasim al-Esterabadi, the Exegetist, that he said: I was told by Yusuf bin Muhammed bin Ziyad, and Ali bin Muhammed bin Sayyar, from their fathers, from Hasan bin Ali bin Muhammed bin Ali bin Musa ibn Ja’far bin Muhammed bin Ali bin Hussain bin Ali bin Abi Talib, peace be upon them, with regards to the saying of Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He: «The Path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor» means (that you shall) say: Guide us the Path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor by granting success to Your Religion and obedience, and they are those about whom Allah, Exalted and Glorious, said: «And whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger, they are with those upon whom Allah has bestowed favor, from the Prophets, the Truthful, the martyrs and the righteous. And excellent are those as companions.» (4:70) Exactly this was also reported of the Commander of the Believers, peace be upon him, that he said: It is not those upon whom it has been bestowed with favors of money and health in bodies, although all this is an apparent grace from Allah. Do you not see that these might be disbelievers or grieve sinners? You were not called to pray that you are directed to their path, but rather, you were ordered to pray that you are directed to the Path of those upon whom Allah has bestowed with the favors of faith in Allah, belief in His Messenger and befriendship to Muhammed and his Pure Family and his good, noble, companions, and of righteous Taqiya by which safety is granted from the evil among Allah’s servants and from increasement of the evil deeds and disbelief of Allah’s enemies, by being affable with them and not impute them for harming you and harming the believers, and by knowing the rights of the brothers among the believers. Verily, there is no servant nor maid who befriends Muhammed and the Family of Muhammed, peace be upon them, and antagonizes those who antagonized them, except that he took from the torment of Allah a protective shield. And there is no servant nor slave who appeased the servants of Allah and did well in appeasement by which he did not enter into any falsehood and not deviate from any truth, except that Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He, makes his breathing a glorification, purifies his deeds and gives an insight to conceal our secret and patience with anger due to what he hears from our enemies, like the reward of the one smeared with his blood for the sake of Allah. And there is no servant who takes himself to carry out the rights of his brothers, fulfills their rights effortfully, gives them what is possible for him and is satisfied with them by pardoning them and abandoning the investigation into them with regards to what happens of their errors, and who forgivest hem for it, except that Allah says to him on the Day he meets Him: O my servant, you fulfilled the rights of your brothers, and you did not investigate into them with regards to that which they owe you. Hence, I am more Munificent and Generous and Prior of what you did of pardoning and generosity, so, I will today, indeed, fulfil a right I promised you and increase from My wide favor, and I will not look into you with regards to your short-coming with some of My rights. He said: Then He will joint hem with Muhammed and his Family and make him among the best of their Shi’a. Then he said: The Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be upon him and his Family, said to some of his companions one day: O servant of Allah, love for the sake of Allah, hate for the sake of Allah, befriend for the sake of Allah, antagonize for the sake of Allah, for indeed, the befriendship of Allah cannot be attained except by such, and a man will not find the taste of faith, even if his prayers and fasts augment, until he becomes as such. Indeed, the fraternity among people has, on this day of yours, has mostly become for the sake of this world; for its sake they affectionate, and for its sake they antagonize, and that will not avail them from Allah at all. Then the man said: O Messenger of Allah, how can I know that I have befriended and antagonized for the sake of Allah, and who is the Ally of Allah, that I may befriend him? And who is his enemy, that I may antagonize him? Then the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s blessings be upon him and his Family, pointed towards Ali, peace be upon him, and said: Do you see him? He said: Sure. He said: The ally of his is the ally of Allah, so befriend him, and the enemy of his is the enemy of Allah, so antagonize him, and befriend the ally of his, even if he has fought your father and sons, and antagonize the enemy of his, even if he is your father or sons.