We believe that Allah...

We believe that Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He above all, created the whole of creation for him (the Prophet) and for the People of his House, and that but for them, Allah, Glory be to Him, would not have created the heavens or the earth, Paradise or Hell, Adam or Eve, the angels or (any) created thing (shay ') - the Blessings of Allah upon them all.

And our belief is that after His Prophet, the Blessings of Allah upon him, the proofs[^10] of Allah for the people are the Twelve Imams,[^11] the first of them being the Prince of Believers 'Ali bin Abi Talib, then al-Hasan, then al-Husayn, then 'Ali bin al-Husayn, then Muhammad bin 'Ali, then Ja'far bin Muhammad, then Musa bin Ja'far, then 'Ali bin Musa ar-Rida, then Muhammad bin 'Ali, then 'Ali bin Muhammad, then al-Hasan bin 'Ali, then Muhammad bin al-Hasan the Proof (al-hujja), who upholds the command of Allah (al-qa'im bi-amri'l-lah), the Master of Time (sahibu'z-zaman), the Vicegerent of the Beneficent One (khalifatu'r-Rahman) in His earth, the one who is present in the earth ^12 but invisible (gha'ib) to the eyes - the Blessings of Allah on all of them.[^13] Our belief regarding them is that they are in authority (ulu'l-amr).

It is to them that Allah has ordained obedience,[^14] they are the witnesses for the people and they are the gates of Allah (abwab) and the road (sabil) to Him and the guides (dalil, plural adilla) thereto, and the repositories[^15] of His knowledge and the interpreters of His revelations and the pillars of His unity (tawhid). They are immune from sins (khata') and errors (zalal); they are those from whom “Allah has removed all impurity and made them absolutely pure” (Qur'an 33:33) .

They are possessed of (the power of) miracles (mu'jizat) and of (irrefutable) arguments (dala'il ); and they are for the protection of the people of this earth just as the stars are for the inhabitants of the heavens. They may be likened, in this community, to the Ark of Noah; he who boards it obtains salvation or reaches the Gate of Repentance ( hitta ).[^16] They are the most noble slaves of Allah, who “speak not until He hath spoken; they act by His command” (Qur'an 21:27) .