In that which Thou knowest best...

In that which Thou knowest best, Thou art not accused for Thy creation or Thy will!] Then Thy selected friends, Thy vicegerents, were overcome, vanquished, forcibly stripped; [they see Thy decree replaced, Thy Book discarded, Thy obligation distorted from the aims of Thy laws, and the Sunnah of Thy Prophet abandoned!] O God, curse their enemies among those of old and the later folk, and all those pleased with their acts, and their adherents and followers!

[^129] And bless Thy chosen, O God, from Thy creation, Muhammad and his descendants, the friends selected from among Thy creatures, the pure, and make its listeners to them and obeyers, as Thou has commanded! [^130] O God, surely Thou hast confirmed Thy religion in all times with an Imam whom Thou hast set up as a guidepost to Thy servants and .lighthouse in Thy lands, after his cord has been joined to Thy cord!

Thou hast appointed him the means to Thy good pleasure, made obeying him obligatory, cautioned against disobeying him, and commanded following his commands, abandoning his prohibitions, and that no forward-goer go ahead of him or back-keeper keep back from him! So he is the sanctuary of the shelter-seekers, the cave of the faithful, the handhold of the adherents, and the radiance of the worlds!

[^131] Through him, establish Thy book, Thy bounds, Thy laws, and the norms of Thy Messenger's sunnah (Thy blessing, O God be upon him and his Household), revive the guideposts of Thy religion, deadened by the wrongdoers, burnish the rust of injustice from Thy way, sift the adversity from Thy road, eliminate those who deviate from Thy path, and erase those who seek crookedness in Thy straightness!

Make him mild toward Thy friends, stretch forth his hand over Thy enemies, give us his clemency, his mercy, his tenderness, his sympathy, and make us his hearers and obeyers, strivers toward his good pleasure, assistants in helping him and defending him, and brought near through that to Thee and Thy Messenger (Thy blessings, O God', be upon him and his Household).

[^132] From the passages that have been cited, it becomes clear that the Imam was intent on propagating the Shi'i belief in Imamate as the most important of Shi'i conceptions. Similar statements concerning the high station of the are found in Imam Ali's statements in the Nahj al-balaghah. The original Shi'i doctrine and beliefs that were prevalent among the generality of the Shiah were inspired by teachings whose groundwork was laid by the Imams.