2. Ali ibn Muhammad and Muhammad ibn al-Hasan from Sahl ibn Ziyad from Muhammad ibn al-Walid Shabab al-Sayrafi, who said: Sa’id al-A‘raj narrated to us, saying: "I entered, along with Sulayman ibn Khalid, upon Abu Abdillah عليه السلام. He started speaking to us, saying:
'O Sulayman, what comes from Amir al-Mu'minin عليه السلام is to be adhered to, and what he prohibits is to be avoided. He has been given the same virtue that was given to the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم, and the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم has a virtue over all of God’s creation. Whoever finds fault with Amir al-Mu'minin عليه السلام in any of his rulings is like one who finds fault with Allah Almighty and His Messenger صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم. Rejecting him in small or large matters is akin to associating others with Allah. Amir al-Mu'minin عليه السلام was the gate of Allah, which no one could enter except through him, and the path of Allah, which whoever treads otherwise will be destroyed. This is the way the Imams عليه السلام continued, one after another. Allah made them the pillars of the earth, so that it would not shake with its inhabitants, and the irrefutable proof over those above the earth and beneath the soil.'
He also said: 'Amir al-Mu'minin عليه السلام said: "I am the divider by Allah's command between Paradise and Hell. I am the Greater Faruq (the distinguisher between truth and falsehood). I am the bearer of the staff and the (marking) seal. All the angels and the spirit have acknowledged my station, just as they acknowledged Muhammad صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم. I have been made to carry a similar burden as that of Muhammad صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم, which is the burden from the Lord. Indeed, Muhammad صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم will be called and clothed and made to speak, and I will be called and clothed and made to speak, and I will speak just as he speaks. I have been given qualities that no one before me was given: I have been taught the knowledge of death, calamities, genealogies, and the ability to judge decisively. Nothing from the past escapes me, and nothing from the future is hidden from me. By the permission of Allah, I give glad tidings, and I deliver on behalf of Allah, the Almighty. All of this was granted to me by Allah's permission."'