Al-Husayn ibn Muhammad al-Ash'ari has narrated from Mu'alla ibn Muhammad from Ahmad ibn Muhammad from abu Mas'ud from al-Ja'fari who has said that he heard abu al- Hassan al-Rida (a.s.) say
the following. " The Imams (a.s.) are the deputies of Allah, the Most Holy, the Most High, on earth."
H 493, Ch. 12, h 2
Mu'alla has narrated from Muhammad ibn Jumhur from Sulayman ibn Suma'a from 'Abdallah ibn al-Qasim from abu Basir who has said that Imam abu 'Abdallah (a.s.) said the following. "The
successors (of the holy Prophet (s.a.) are the gates to Allah, the Most Holy, the Most High, through which people go to Him.
Had they not existed, Allah, the Most Holy, the Most High, would not have been recognized. Allah, the Most Holy, the Most High, will present these successors as evidence against His
creatures."
H 494, Ch. 12, h 3
Al-Husayn ibn Muhammad has narrated from Mu'alla ibn Muhammad from al-Washsha' from 'Abdallah ibn Sinan who has said that he asked abu 'Abdallah (a.s.) about the meaning of the following
verse of the Holy Quran.
"God has promised the righteously striving believers to appoint them as His deputies on earth, as He had appointed those who lived before. . . ." (24:55) The Imams (a.s.) said, "The people
referred to in this verse are the Imams
