These twain shall never separate from one another till they reach me by the Pool...

These twain shall never separate from one another till they reach me by the Pool; therefore, see how you succeed me in faring with them."[^1] He, peace be upon him and his progeny, has also said: "I am leaving among you two successors: the Book of Allah, a rope extending from heavens to earth - or between heavens and earth - , and my household ( ‘itra ) from my family (Ahl al­Bayt); they shall never separate from each other until they reach me by the Pool."[^2] He, peace be upon him and his progeny, also said: "I am leaving among you the Two Weighty Things: the Book of Allah and my Ahl al­Bayt; they shall never separate from each other till they reach me at the Pool."[^3] He, peace be upon him, has said: "Me thinks I am going to be called upon and shall answer the call, and I am leaving among you the Two Weighty Things, the Book of Allah Almighty and my offspring, my Ahl al­Bayt.

The Sublime and omni­Scient has informed me that they shall never part from each other till they reach me by the Pool; so, see how you succeed me in faring with them."[^4] Having returned from the Farewell Pilgrimage, he, peace be upon him and his progeny, camped at Ghadir Khumm and ordered the area underneath a few huge trees to be swept clean then said in his sermon: "It seems as if I am going to be called upon and shall answer the call, and I am leaving with you the Two Weighty Things, one of which is greater than the other: the Book of Allah Almighty, and my Household; so, see how you succeed me in faring with them, for they shall never separate from each other until they reach me at the Pool." Then he (pbuh) added: "Allah, the Exalted and the Sublime, is my Master, and I am the master of every believer." Having said so, he took ‘Ali's hand and said: "To whomsoever I have been a master, this ‘Ali is his master.

O Allah! Befriend whosoever befriends ‘Ali, and be the enemy of whosoever opposes him, etc."[^5] ‘Abdullah ibn Hantab has said: "The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) delivered a sermon to us at Al-Juhfa wherein he asked us: 'Don't I have authority over your own selves more than you yourselves do?' Attendants there answered: 'Yes, indeed, O Messenger of Allah!' Then he said: 'I shall then question you about these two: the Qur'an and my ‘itra .'"[^6] IV Its Tawatur, The sahih books which deem it mandatory to follow the Two Weighty Things are successive through more than twenty companions who all are in consensus in this regard.