Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Sulayman al-Daylami narrates: We were with Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) when Abu Basir entered, breathing heavily. When he sat down, Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: "What is this state"? He said: "O son of the Messenger of Allah, my age has grown, my bone marrow has thinned, and my appointed time draws near, while I do not know what awaits me in the hereafter". The Imam said: "O Abu Muhammad, do you say this too"?! He said: "May I be your ransom, how could I not say it". He said: "O Abu Muhammad, do you not know that Allah the Exalted has honored your young from being punished, and has been gracious to your elders from being brought to reckoning". He said: "May I be your ransom, is this favor exclusive to us or for all people of monotheism"? He said: "No, it is only for you, not for others". Allah the Exalted says: "The gray hair of the believer is My light, and I am ashamed to burn My light with My fire, and it has been said that gray hair is the adornment of intellect and the mark of dignity". He said: "May I be your ransom, we have been struck by something that has broken our backs and killed our hearts, and by which the judges have deemed our blood lawful, because of a hadith their jurists have narrated to them". Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: "[The title] Rafidha"? He said: "Yes". He said: "By Allah, they did not give you that name, rather the Lord of the worlds named you with it. Do you not know that seventy men from the Children of Israel abandoned Pharaoh when his misguidance became clear to them, and joined Musa (peace be upon him) when his guidance became clear to them, and they became known in the army of Musa (peace be upon him) as al-Rafidha because they abandoned Pharaoh, and this group was the most devoted in worship of Allah and the most loving of Musa (peace be upon him), Harun (peace be upon him) and their descendants among that army. Allah revealed to Musa (peace be upon him): Record this name for them in the Torah, for I have named them with it and bestowed it upon them. So Musa (peace be upon him) recorded the name for them. Then Allah, the Great, kept this name in reserve until He bestowed it upon you. O Abu Muhammad! They abandoned the good, and you abandoned evil for the sake of the good. People became divided into every faction and split into every branch, and you branched off with the household of your Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), and went wherever Allah went, and chose whomever Allah chose, and desired whomever Allah desired. So rejoice, then rejoice again, for by Allah you are the ones shown mercy, whose good deeds are accepted and whose wrongdoers are pardoned. Whoever does not come to Allah with what you hold [the path of the household (peace be upon them) and acceptance of their guardianship] will have no good deed accepted from him and no sin overlooked for him. O Abu Muhammad! Allah has angels who shed the sins from the backs of our Shia just as the wind sheds the leaves from the trees in their season of falling, and that is the meaning of Allah's word, the Mighty and Majestic: وَالْمَلَائِکَةُ یُسَبِّحُونَ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّهِمْ وَیَسْتَغْفِرُونَ لِمَنْ فِی الْأَرْضِ [And the angels glorify their Lord with praise and seek forgiveness for whoever is on earth] (al-Shura/5). Know that by Allah their seeking of forgiveness is for you alone, not for the rest of creation. O Abu Muhammad! Has this pleased you"? He said: "May I be your ransom, tell me more". He said: "O Abu Muhammad! Allah, Lord of the worlds, has excluded none of the successors of the prophets nor their followers except the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) and his Shia, for He has said in His Book, and His word is the truth: یَوْمَ لَا یُغْنِی مَوْلًی عَنْ مَوْلًی شَیْئًا وَلَا هُمْ یُنْصَرُونَ، إِلَّا مَنْ أَتَی اللَّهَ بِقَلْبٍ سَلِیمٍ [The Day when a relation shall not avail a relation in aught, nor shall they be helped, except him who comes to Allah with a sound heart]".