Qurʾan: 3/34 ” I asked: “Will he possess this position after you?

Qurʾan: 3/34 ” I asked: “Will he possess this position after you?” He said, “Yes, whoever obeys him will attain Truth, and whoever disobeys him will become an infidel.”[^16] And sometimes he would say: “My eldest son, ‘Ali, is most of all others submissive and obedient to me.

He looks upon Jafr and Jami‘a (which are two significant source books of the [a.s.]’s knowledge) along with me, upon which no one but the Prophet and his successors would look.”[^17] Imam al-Ridha’s (a.s.) Religious Authority in His Youth In his youth, Imam al-Ridha (a.s.) enjoyed such an outstanding virtue and scholarship that people referred to him as a religious authority.

Imam al-Kazim (a.s.) referred people to him, saying: “My son’s writing is as my writing; his words are as my words, and his envoy is as my envoy; whatever he says is the very truth.”[^18] One day someone said to Imam al-Kazim (a.s.): “I have a question.” His holiness said, “Ask it from your Imam.” The…