Sa’d al-Ash’ari: I went to Abu Muhammad al-Hasan b.

Sa’d al-Ash’ari: I went to Abu Muhammad al-Hasan b. ‘Ali, peace be upon them both, and I intended to ask him about his successor. But, he said to me before I said anything, “O Ahmad b. Ishaq! Verily, Allah the Most Blessed, the Most High never leaves the earth since the creation of Adam, peace be upon him, and He will never leave it till establishment of the Hour, without an Hujjah of Allah over His creation.

Through him, calamity is averted from the people of the earth; through him, rain descends; and through him, the blessings of the earth come out .”[^3] Al-Haj Muhammad Zakariya says: إسناده معتبر Its chain is reliable.[^4] ‘Allamah al-Majlisi (d.

1111 H) also copies: التوحيد، معاني الأخبار: أبي عن سعد عن ابن عيسى عن الحسين بن سعيد عن فضالة عن أبان عن محمد بن مسلم قال: سمعت أبا عبد الله عليه السلام يقول: إن لله عز وجل خلقا خلقهم من نوره ورحمته لرحمته، فهم عين الله الناظرة، واذنه السامعة، ولسانه الناطق في خلقه بإذنه، وامناؤه على ما أنزل من عذر أو نذر أو حجة، فبهم يمحو الله السيئات وبهم يدفع الضيم. وبهم ينزل الرحمة، وبهم يحيي ميتا ويميت حيا وبهم يبتلي خلقه.

وبهم يقضي في خلقه قضية قلت: جعلت فداك من هؤلاء؟ قال: الأوصياء Al-Tawhid , Ma’ani al-Akhbar : My father – Sa’d – Ibn ‘Isa – al-Husayn b. Sa’id – Fudhalah – Aban – Muhammad b. Muslim: I heard Abu ‘Abd Allah, peace be upon him, saying: “Verily, Allah the Almighty has some creatures whom He created from His Light and from His Mercy for the sake of His Mercy.

Due to this, they are the Eye of Allah which sees, His Ear that hears, His Tongue that speaks to His creation with His Permission, His Safeguards over what was revealed from justifications, warnings and proofs.

And through them, Allah erases the evils; and through them, He wards off grievances; and through them, He sends down mercy; and through them, He enlivens the dead and causes the living to die; and through them, He afflicts His creation; and through them, He judges cases among His creation .” I said, “May I be sacrificed for you, who are these people?” He replied, “ The awsiya ”.[^5] The hadith has a mu’tabar (reliable) chain , according to Ayatullah al-Muhsini,[^6] and, of course, the word “awsiya” is another terminology for “Imams” (in addition to “amirs” and “khalifahs”).

Apparently, the Imams, ‘alaihim al-salam , perform far more functions than most people know. Meanwhile, some from the Ahl al-Sunnah – especially the Salafiyyah – may feel “appalled” at some of these more advanced roles of the awsiya .