Do not stray from him...

Do not stray from him, nor should you flee from him, nor should you refuse his guardianship and his authority, for he is the one who guides to truth and acts upon it, and crushes falsehood and proscribes it, accepting no blame, in the path of Allah, from any blamer. 1 Chapter 36, Verse 12 of the Holy Quran. He is the first to believe in Allah and in His Messenger; and he is the one who offered his life as a sacrifice for the Messenger of Allah.

I commanded him, on behalf of Allah, to sleep in my bed, and he did it to sacrifice himself for me.1]. He was with the Messenger of Allah when no one among men worshipped Allah in the company of His Messenger other than him. O people! Prefer him (over all others), for Allah has indeed preferred him, and turn to him, for Allah has indeed appointed him (as your guide).

1 This refers to the night of migration of the Prophet (PBUH&HF) from Mecca to Medina, when the pagans rushed to kill the Prophet (PBUH&HF) in his bed overnight, but they found Imam Ali (PBUH) sleeping in place of him. O people!

He is an Imam authorized by Allah, and Allah shall never turn to anyone (in mercy) who denies his authority, nor shall He ever forgive him; this is a decisive decree by Allah that He shall do so to anyone who opposes His command about him, and shall torment him with the most painful torment, which lasts forever and ever.

Hence, beware lest you oppose him, and thus, arrive at a fire whose fuel is people and stones, prepared for the disbelievers.1 I am the seal of the prophets and the messengers, and the proof (of Allah) over all the creatures, of the inhabitants of the heavens and the earths. 1 cf. Chapter 2, Verse 24 of the Holy Quran. He who doubts this, is indeed a disbeliever, with the disbelief of the early era of ignorance.

And he who doubts anything of what I have said this (day), has doubted all that has been revealed to me. [And anyone who doubts any of the Imams, has doubted them all]., and anyone who doubts us, shall be in the Fire. O people! Allah, the mighty and the majestic, has bestowed this virtue upon me out of His kindness and His grace. And there is no god but He. My praise is for Him forever and ever, and in all circumstances. .eZ5. . O people!

Prefer Ali (over all others), for he is the best of the people, men or women, after me so long as Allah sends down His sustenance and (and so long as) the creation exists.