He left them at the luminous destination after He had...

He left them at the luminous destination after He had perfected to them their religion, completed His favor to them, and chosen for them Islam as a religion.[^1] However, the nation separated, disagreed and divided after the Prophet (S) departed, into different groups, sects and creeds after it had been the best nation raised up for mankind.

The first reason behind this separation and disagreement belonged to the first companions who carried the banner of the Mission to deliver it to the next generations that followed. They disagreed and separated after the demise of their Prophet (S). They fought and killed each other. They considered each other as unbelievers and were free from each other. The next generations followed them in that and made the problem more complicated.

They widened the circle of disagreement with new thoughts and strange theories they attached to the religion of Allah. Therefore, sects and creeds came out and different groups disputed and fought each other. Muslims became confused in darkness that they did not know where to go and where the truth was, for every group claimed they had kept to the Qur'an and the Sunna, every creed claimed that they followed the Prophet’s line, and every party was pleased with what it had.

If we leave aside our emotions, give up blind following, turn our backs to fanaticism, look at things with the eye of insight and ask - where is the position of the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) among all these sects and creeds? This is especially so when we face the Prophet’s traditions which order the nation to refer to the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) in all religious and worldly affairs to assure guidance and protection from deviation. These traditions are true and reliable in all sects of Muslims.

One of these traditions is the tradition of Thaqalayn where the Prophet (S) said: I have left among you the Two Weighty Things; the Book of Allah and my progeny, my family. If you keep to them, you shall never go astray after me at all. I recommend you to obey Allah through obeying my family. He repeated this three times.

One, who studies the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) and their position to the nation today, does not find but respect and reverence to them among all Muslims, but the will of the Messenger of Allah (S) was not limited to respect and reverence to the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.). He ordered the nation to obey, follow and imitate them in everything.