fulfils my contracts and meets my obligations. Therefore, whoever loves you in life for my sake, we will love him. Whoever loves you in life for your sake after me, Allah will seal faith and belief [in their hearts]. Whoever loves you after me and not falter, Allah will seal faith and belief [in their hearts] and he will be safe on the Day of Fear. Whoever dies while hating you, O Ali, will die as if during the days of pre-Islamic ignorance (Jahiliyya), and Allah will invalidate his actions in Islam)).

Ad-Daraqutni related in his Al-Ifrād, as well as al-Hākim in Al-Mustadrak, and al-Khatīb in his At-Tarīkh on the authority of „Ali, upon him be peace, that [the Messenger], peace and blessings be upon him and his progeny, said to him:

((The community (al-ummah) will betray you after me. You will live upon my path and fight for my sunnah. Whoever loves you, loves me. Whoever hates you, hates me. Verily, this (i.e. his beard) will be dyed with blood from this (i.e. his head))).

Al-Khatīb related in al-Mutafiq and al-Muftariq on the authority of Muhammad bin Ali that he, peace and blessings be upon him and his progeny, said:

((Allah does not firmly establish the love of „Ali in the heart of a believer except that Allah will establish them to speedily progress on the Bridge (As-Sirāt) on the Day of Judgment)).

At-Tabarāni related on the authority of Salmān that he, peace and blessings be upon him and his progeny, said: ((The one that loves you, loves me. The one that hates you, hates me)). At-Tabarāni related on the authority of Muhammad bin „Abdullah bin Abi Rāfi‟—his father—his grandfather and many others that he, peace and blessings be upon him and his progeny, said:

((Whoever loves „Ali only loves me. Whoever loves me only love Allah. Whoever hates him only hates me. Whoever hates me only hates Allah)).

All of the above are related by Ahmed bin al-Qāsim in his Sharh al-Ghāya.

Conclusion:

This is just one drop from a downpour and one level (majja) of a fathomless sea concerning what is narrated about the People of the House, upon him be peace! If we just take what is narrated about them from the verses of the Qur‟ān and the Prophetic hadīths, and investigate the chains of transmission (asānīd) to see who narrated them, this will lead to a great proof. Even if it is confined to what we have just narrated, a sound heart and intellectual path will achieve knowledge of the way that leads to the place of reward and avert one from the punishment of Hell.

The most amazing thing is that the community divided, and every sect belongs to an imam that they unquestionably adhere to from the imams of the generality, like ash-Shā‟fi, Abu Hanīfa (may Allah have mercy on both of them), and others. [They do this] without preferring the Qur‟ān, Prophetic hadīths, and intellectual proofs that they use as proofs and that they unquestionably adhere to.

Regarding the People of the Messenger‟s House, peace and blessings be upon him and his progeny, they did not refer to them regarding the verses of the Qur‟ān; the collected, mass-transmitted, Prophetic hadīths that are authenticated; and the intellectual evidences and witnessed that the truth was with them. This shows that it is obligatory to follow them, but that does not make one superior like the superiority of the one that goes to one of their scholars that takes from their narrations and recorded