[184] And from it: The Messenger of Allah (exalted is his might) delivered a sermon and said: "O assemblies of people, indeed Allah has revealed to me that I am to be taken [die], and that my cousin Ali is my brother,

my legatee (wasi), my guardian (wali), my successor (khalifah), and the one who conveys on my behalf, and he is the Imam of the righteous (al-muttaqin)," until his saying: "If you seek his guidance, he will guide you; if you follow him, you will be saved; if you obey him, it is Allah you have obeyed; if you disobey him, it is Allah you have disobeyed; if you pledge allegiance to him, it is Allah you have pledged allegiance to; and if you break your pledge to him, then the pledge to Allah you have broken."

[185] And from it: From the words of the Messenger (exalted is his might), pointing to the Commander of the Faithful with his saying: "So it is upon you to obey him and avoid disobeying him, for he is the Truthful One (siddiq) of this nation, its Distinguisher (faruq), its inspired speaker (muhaddith), its Aaron, its Joshua, its Asif, and its Simon (Sham'un)." I have left the esoteric interpretation (ta'wil) of this Prophetic speech, and much like it, to the deduction and conviction of the astute reader.