Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Musa ibn Bakr narrates from Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Zayd ibn Ali ibn al-Husayn (peace be upon him) had a number of letters in his hand and came to Imam Baqir (peace be upon him). The people of Kufa, in the letters, were inviting him to their side and to rise up, and were promising him assistance. Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) asked: "Did they write these letters on their own initiative, without any prior correspondence, or are they a reply to letters you had written to them earlier?" He said: "No! They wrote them on their own initiative, because they recognize our right and our kinship with the Prophet, and they see in the Quran that loving us and obeying us is obligatory upon them, and moreover they perceive our distress and hardship." The Imam (peace be upon him) said: "Certainly, obedience to the true leader is a matter that Allah the Mighty and Majestic made obligatory and ordained in the past for the predecessors, and likewise for all people in the present and future; but this obedience and submission is to one person from us, the household, whereas the love and affection required is for all the offspring of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family). Allah accomplishes affairs by His definite decree upon a fixed measure and ordered limits and a specified time, and never let those who have no faith anger you [and turn you aside from your path]! (Rum/60). And إِنَّهُمْ لَنْ یُغْنُوا عَنْکَ مِنَ اللهِ شَیْئاً [Indeed they will not avail you against Allah in the least], and do not be hasty, for Allah does not hasten a matter before its appointed time on account of the haste of the servants. Take heed not to go ahead of Allah, for then calamity will seize the hem of your garment and you will fall to the ground."