سورة المائدة

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Salman (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates: Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) said regarding the verse: "Say: Allah is sufficient as a witness between me and you, and whoever has knowledge of the Book" (Ra'd 43): "I am the one with whom is the knowledge of the Book. And Allah confirmed him and gave him the wasilah (means) in the testament, and He does not leave his (peace be upon him and his family) ummah without a means to him and to Allah, for Allah says: یَا أَیُّهَا الَّذِینَ آمَنُواْ اتَّقُواْ الله وَابْتَغُواْ إِلَیهِ الْوَسِیلَةَ [O you who believe! Be careful of (your duty to) Allah and seek means of nearness to Him]."

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): The Imams and leaders [after me] are all from the sons of Husayn, and whoever obeys them has obeyed Allah, and whoever disobeys them has disobeyed Allah the Mighty and Majestic, and they are the firm handhold and the sturdy grip, and they are the guide to Allah the Mighty and Majestic.

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): وَ ابْتَغُوا إِلَیْهِ الْوَسِیلَةَ [And seek means of nearness to Him]; seek nearness to Allah through the Imam.

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Ask Allah for al-wasila (the means) for me, for it is a station and rank in Paradise which only one servant will attain, and I hope that I will be that servant.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): In Paradise there are two pearls in the midst of the Throne; one is white and the other is yellow, and in each of them are seventy thousand chambers whose doors and goblets are of a single substance. The white one is the wasila (means) of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) and his Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them), and the yellow one belongs to Ibrahim (peace be upon him) and his household.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): O people! Indeed Allah the Mighty and Majestic has promised His Messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) al-Wasilah (the means of nearness), and His promise is true, and Allah does not break His promise. Beware! Al-Wasilah is the highest rank of Paradise and lies at the summit of the heights, and it is the utmost of every wish. It has a thousand ladders (steps), and the distance between one ladder and the next is a thousand years' run of a noble horse, and its ladders are of pearl, jewel, chrysolite (zabarjad), lu'lu' (pearl), ruby, emerald, coral, camphor, ambergris, vapour, aloeswood, incense, gold, silver, cloud, air and light. This Wasilah stands above all the gardens of Paradise, and on that Day the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) is seated upon it, clothed in two fine robes: one garment of the mercy of Allah and the other of His light, and upon his head is the crown of prophethood and the diadem of the messengership, and he has illuminated that place with his light. And I on that Day stand upon a lofty station which is below the station of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), and I too am clothed in two fine garments, one of the blossom of arjuwan (crimson) light and the other of camphor. The messengers and prophets stand upon the ladders, and the great ones and the proofs (hujjaj) of all ages stand at our right, while robes of light and honour cover them. And no angel of nearness, nor prophet, nor messenger sees us but is astonished by our lights and amazed at our radiance and majesty. And on the right of al-Wasilah and of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) is a cloud as vast as the reach of sight, from which a call comes: "O people of this station! Blessed is he who loves the Wasi (the successor) and believes in the Ummi Arab Prophet (peace be upon him and his family); and whoever disbelieves, the Fire is his appointed place." And on the left of al-Wasilah and of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) is a shade from which a call comes: "O people of this station! Blessed is he who loves the Wasi and believes in the Ummi Prophet (peace be upon him and his family). By the One to Whom belongs the highest sovereignty, no one shall be saved, nor attain repose and Paradise, save he who meets his Creator with sincere devotion to these two and following the path of these two. So, O supporters of the wilayah (guardianship) of Allah! Be certain of the whiteness of your faces and the nobility of your station and the generosity of your return, and of your success on this Day, "upon thrones facing one another." And you, O supporters of deviation and preventers from the remembrance of Allah and His Messenger and His path, and O leaders of the ages, be certain of the blackness of your faces and the wrath of your Lord in return for the deeds you did."

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): Abu Sa'id al-Khudri said: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: "If you ask Allah anything for me, then ask Him for al-wasilah (the means)." We asked him: "What is al-wasilah?" He said: "It is my station in Paradise, and it is a ladder of a thousand steps, and between one step and the next is the distance a swift horse gallops in a month. It is between a step of pearl, a step of chrysolite, a step of ruby, a step of gold, and a step of silver. On the Day of Resurrection it will be brought and placed alongside the station of the prophets, and among the stations of the prophets it will be like the moon among the stars. On that day there will not remain a prophet, a truthful one (siddiq), or a martyr but that he will say: 'Blessed is the one to whom this station belongs.'"