Their sight will be brightened by revelation...

Their sight will be brightened by revelation, the [delicacies of the Quran’s] commentary will be put in their ears and they will be given drinks of wisdom, morning and evening.[^4] Farā’id al-simṭain[^5]: Informed us Abū Ja`far, ibn Bābawayh, may Allah be satisfied with him, from Muḥammad b. Aḥmad al-Simnānī, from Aḥmad b. Yaḥyā b. Zakariyyā al-Qattān, from Bakr b. `Abd-Allah b. Ḥabīb, from Faḍl b. al-Ṣaqr al-`Abdī, from Mu`āwiya, from Sulaimān b. Mihrān al-A’mash, from al-Ṣādiq Ja`far b.

Muḥammad, peace be on him, from his father Muḥammad b. `Alī, peace be on him, from his father `Alī b. al-Ḥusayn, peace be on him, who said: We are the leaders of the Muslims, Allah’s Proofs upon the worlds, the masters (sādat) of the believers, the chiefs of those who will have shiny faces [on the Day of Judgment], and the masters (mawālī) of the faithful. We are security for the inhabitants of the earth just as the stars are security for the inhabitants of the sky.

We are those due to whom the sky is withheld from falling on the earth except with His permission; due to us, the earth is withheld from shaking its inhabitants; due to us it rains and mercy is spread and the blessings of the earth come out. If someone from us didn’t exist on earth, the earth would have swallowed its inhabitants.

Ever since Allah created Adam, the earth has not been empty of Allah’s Proof—[who has been] either apparent and known or hidden and concealed—and it will not become empty until the Hour [i.e. Judgment Day] is established. Had it not been so, Allah would not have been worshipped.

Sulaimān says, “I asked (Imam) al-Ṣādiq, peace be on him, ‘How will the people benefit from a hidden and concealed proof?’ He answered, ‘Just like they benefit from the sun when the clouds cover it.[^6]’” Kamāl al-dīn[^7]: Narrated to me my father, may Allah be satisfied with him, from Sa`d b. `Abd-Allah, from Hārūn b. Muslim, from Sa`dān, from Mas`adat b. Ṣadaqa, from Abū `Abd-Allah [al-Ṣādiq], from his forefathers, from `Alī, peace be on them all, who said: O Allah!

There must exist on Your earth Your Proof upon Your creatures, who guides them to Your religion and teaches them [from] Your knowledge, so that Your argument is not negated and the followers of Your friends are not deviated after You guide them. [This proof must exist] regardless of him being apparent and not obeyed, or hidden and fearing [for his life].