Obedience to the Imam

He said: "Abul Qasim Ja'far b. Muhammad b. Qawlawayh reported to me from Muhammad b. Yaqoob al-Kulayni, from Ali b. Ibrahim, from his father, from Hammad b. Isa from Huraiz, from Zurarah b. A'ayan, who reported that:
Abu Ja'far Muhammad b. Ali b. al-Husain (peace be upon them all) said: "The most important matter, the best, the key, the entrance to all affairs and the pleasure of the Gracious Lord lie in obedience to the Imam after have recognized him."
Then he said: Allah, Most High, says (in the Qur'an): "whoever obeys the messenger, has obeyed Allah. But, whoever turns away: 'We have not sent you (Muhammad) as a keeper over them.' (Al-Nisa: 80)"

Imamat, a continued covenant
He said: Abu Ghalib Ahmad b. Muhammad al-Zurari reported to me from Abdullah b. Ja'far al-Himyari, from al-Hasan b. Ali from Zakariyya, from Muhammad b. Sinan and Yunus b. Yaqoob, from Abdul A'ala b. A'ayan who said:
I heard Abu Abdillah, peace be upon him, say: "Our first one is the ushering guide to our next one, and our next one is the conformer of the first one. And among us, the tradition is constant. Surely, when Allah ordains, He implements it."
All Praise be to Allah, the Lord of all Universe and Allah
bless our master Muhammad, the Prophet and his progeny
and send peace upon them.
Al-Shaikh al-Mufid Abu Abdillah Muhammad b. Muhammad b. al-No'man - may Allah perpetuate his capabilities - narrated to us on Monday, the end of Shawaal, in the year four hundred and four.

Traditions from a truthful source
He said: Abul Qasim Ja'far b. Muhammad al-Qummi, may Allah bless him with mercy, reported to me from Sa'd b. Abdullah, who reported from Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Isa, who reported from Harun b. Muslim, from Ali b. Asbat, from Saif b. Umayrah, from Amru b. Shimr, from Jabir who said:
I told Abu Ja'far Muhammad b. Ali al-Baqir (AS): "When you relate a tradition to me, provide its chain of narrators for me." He said: "My father reported to me, from my grandfather, from the messenger of Allah, peace be upon him and his progeny, from Jibraeel (AS), from Allah, Most High. Whatever I mention to you is based on this chain of narrators." And then he said: "O Jabir, a tradition received by you from a truthful source is better for you than the whole world and whatever is in it."

The meaning of "Imma'ah. . ."
And with the foregoing chains of narration from Ali b. Mahzyar, from Ibn Mahboob, from al-Fadhl b. Yunus, from:
Abul Hasan, the first, peace be upon him said: "Convey that which is good, and speak that which is good and do not be Imma'ah! I said: "What is Imma'ah?" He said: "Do not have a habit of saying: I am from the people and I am just like any one of them. Surely, the messenger of Allah, peace be upon him and his progeny, said: O people, there are but two paths: path of good and path of evil. What is the matter with you that I find the path of evil is more loved by you than the path of good?"

Foundation of Islam
He said: Abul Qasim Ja'far b. Muhammad b. Qawlawayh, may Allah bless him with mercy, reported to me from his father, who reported from Sa'd b. Abdilllah, from Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Isa, from al-Hassan b. Mahboob, from Abu Hamza al-Thumali, from Abu Ja'far Muhammad b. Ali al-Baqir, peace be upon him, who said:
"Islam has been founded on five pillars: the daily prayers, giving away of alms, fasting in the month of Ramadhan, pilgrimage to the Sacred House, and love of us, Ahlul Bait."

Imam Hasan's address
He said: Abul Qasim Ismail b. Muhammad al-Anbari al-Katib reported to me from Abu Abdillah Ibrahim b. Muhammad al-Azdi, who reported from Shoaib b. Ayyub, who reported from Mo'awiyah b. Hisham, from Sufyan, from Hisham b. Hassan, who said:
I heard Abu Muhammad, al-Hasan b. Ali, peace be upon him, addressing the people on Friday after they had sworn allegiance to him: "We are the victorious party of Allah, and the nearest kinfolk of His messenger, and the inmates of his pure and immaculate household. We are one of the two invaluable things the Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, left behind for his Ummah. The other one is the Book of Allah in which is expounding of all things, no falsehood can come to it from before it or from behind it. So whoever depends on us for its interpretation will find that we do not fall prey to conjecture, we speak of its realities with certainty.
Obey us, for our obedience is ordained, and is coupled with obedience to Allah and His Prophet. Allah says (in the Qur'an) 'O people who have believed, obey Allah and obey His Prophet and those entrusted with the authority among you. But if there arises any dispute about anything, refer it to Allah and His Prophet.' (5:59) (And he also said) 'If they had referred to the Messenger and to those in the authority among them, those capable of inferring would have known it' (5"63).
And I warn you against listening to the yelling of Satan, for he is indeed your open enemy. If you do, you will be like his friends to whom he said: 'No one can overcome you today, truly I am your protector,' but when the two hosts confronted each other, he turned upon his heels, saying: 'I have nothing to do with you, I see that which you cannot see' (8:48). Then you will fall prey to the lances, minced by the swords, shattered by the shafts and targeted by the arrows. Then: 'it shall not profit a soul to believe, who did not believe before, or has not earned in its faith any goodness' (6:158)."