Imam `Ali (‘a) has said: أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ، إِنَّ لِي عَلَيْكُمْ حَقّاً، وَلَكُمْ عَلَيَّ حَقٌّ. فَأَمَّا حَقُّكُمْ عَلَيَّ فَالنَّصِيحَةُ لَكُمْ، وَتَوْفِيرُ فَيْئِكُمْ عَلَيْكُمْ، وَتَعْلِيمُكُمْ كَيْلاَ تَجْهَلُوا، وَتَأْدِيبُكُمْ كَيْمَا تَعْلَمُوا. وَأَمَّا حَقِّي عَلَيْكُمْ، فَالْوَفَاءُ بِالْبَيْعَةِ، وَالنَّصِيحَةُ فِي الْمَشْهَدِ وَالْمَغِيبِ، وَالإِجَابَةُ حِينَ أَدْعُوكُمْ، وَالطَّاعَةُ حِينَ آمُرُكُمْ. O people, I have a right over you and you have a right over me.
As for your rights over me, they are to counsel you, pay you your dues fully, teach you so that you do not remain ignorant, and instruct you in the code of behavior that you must act upon. As for my rights over you, they are to fulfill the obligation of allegiance, give support whether present or absent, respond when I call upon you, and obey when I order you.
[^2] To sum up, the religious referential authority ( marji` ) is required to undertake his religious, political, social, and juristic role, while the faithful believer ( mu'min ) is required to investigate whether the marji` meets the qualifications, terms, and regulations that must be enjoyed by the one who assumes this office so that the mu'min can realize the truth and take the exact stance that he is religiously required to take, on the basis of the indubitable Prophetic tradition which reads: مَنْ مَاتَ وَلَمْ يَعْرِفْ إِمَامَ زَمَانِهِ مَاتَ مِيتَةً جَاهِلِيَّةً.
Whoever dies before recognizing the authority (i.e. Imam) of his time has died as a non-Muslim. [^3] Another tradition confirms: فَانْظُرُوا عِلْمَكُمْ هَذَا عَمَّنْ تَأْخُذُونَهُ. You must then consider the source from which you take your knowledge.
[^4] On the other hand, and as far as this relationship is concerned, the individuals of the virtuous community have always identified their referential authority and religious leader to the extent that such recognition has become one of the general religious matters that characterize the followers of the (‘a) who commit themselves to it. This is known as taqlid (i.e. reference to a well-qualified scholar to learn the religious verdicts or positions on various affairs of life).
It is however not necessary for the referential authority and the religious leader to get to know all the individuals of the community, since he can undertake his responsibilities and duties towards the virtuous community without knowing each and every individual in person.