ভূমিকা

With them, Allah straightened the bend in religion’s back and removed the trembling of its limbs… None from this Ummah can measure with the Aal (progeny) of Muhammad, blessings of Allah on him and his family. The one on whom their blessings flow can never be equal to them. They are the foundation of religion and the pillars of certainty. The fast-pacers have to turn back to them and the slow-pacers have to strive to reach them. They possess the special qualities of the right of the vicegerency.

The testament and the inheritance (of the Prophet) are concerning them. This is the time when truth has returned to its owner and has been moved to its place.” [^1] That which can be understood in these few sentences is the extraordinary spirituality that enjoy, which places them at a level far above the commonplace. At such a level, nobody can be compared to them.

Just as in the case of Prophethood, it is wrong to uphold a comparison of other people to the Prophet; similarly in the affair of Caliphate and Imamate, with the existence of personalities at this level, it is absurd to speak of others.