منها في أئمّة الدين : فَقَدْ طَلَعَ طَالِعٌ، وَلَمَعَ لاَ مِعٌ، وَلاَحَ لاَئِحٌ، وَاعْتَدَلَ مَائِلٌ، وَاسْتَبْدَلَ اللهُ بِقَوْم قَوْماً، وَبِيَوم يَوْماً، وَانْتَظَرْنَا الْغِيَرَ انْتِظَارَ الْـمُجْدِبِ الْمَطَرَ. وَإِنَّمَا الاَئِمَّةُ قُوَّامُ اللهِ عَلَى خَلْقِهِ، وَعُرَفَاؤُهُ عَلَى عِبَادِهِ، لاَ يَدْخُلُ الْجَنَّةَ إِلاَّ مَنْ عَرَفَهُمْ وَعَرَفُوهُ، وَلاَ يَدْخُلُ النَّارَ إِلاَّ منْ أَنْكَرَهُمْ وَأَنْكَرُوهُ.
[A part of the same sermon about the Divine leaders (Imāms) :] The riser has risen, the sparkler has sparkled, the appearer has appeared and the curved has been straightened. Allāh has replaced one people with another and one day with another. We awaited these changes as the famine-stricken await the rain. Certainly the Imāms are the vicegerents of Allāh over His creatures and they make the creatures know Allāh. No one will enter Paradise except he who knows them and knows Him, and no one will enter Hell except he who denies them and denies Him.
