Some narratives explicitly say that doing ziyarah of the...

Jabir al-Ju'fi is reported to have said: I came to Ja'far bin Muhammad (al-Sadiq ('a)) on the day of '`shura', and he said to me: 'These people are the visitors of Allah (zuwwar Allah), and it is the right of the mazur to honor the za'ir…[^17] The above traditons imply that because the Imams ('a) are manifestations [^18] of Allah's Sublime Names [^19], visiting them and seeking closeness to them is the same as seeking closeness to Almighty Allah.

Seeking closeness here, we should understand, does not refer to spatial limitations, but spiritual proximity.

In other words, as the za'ir (one who deflects from other than the attributes of the mazur) comes spiritually closer to the Imam ('a) he is in reality painting himself with the Attributes of Almighty Allah which the Imam enjoys but with limitations..rather, the Imams ('a) are sheer Manifestations (ma³ahir) of Allah's Names and thus in reality no Attribute belongs to other than Allah: اَللهُ لاَ إلَهَ إلاَّ هُو لَهُ الأسْمآء الحُسْنى Allah, other than Him there is no God; and to Him Alone belongs the Beautiful Names…[^20] Those who are well versed with the secrets of prayer (Asrar al-Salat) do appreciate this reality in the state of ruku' when they vision that no one other than Almighty Allah has any perfection whatsoever.