The history of the lives of the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) shows that they focused their efforts on the intellectual refinement and moral education of Muslims, in order to raise true and genuine Shi’ah followers as commanded by Allah. They made every effort to teach Islamic rulings and knowledge to achieve this goal. They defined the true measure of an individual’s faith as following all divine commands.
In the logic of the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them), only those who are obedient to Allah’s commands, pious, free from carnal desires, and knowledgeable of their teachings and instructions can call themselves their true and real followers. According to the Imams of the Shi’ah (peace be upon them), their love and guardianship will only lead to salvation when accompanied by righteous deeds. Shi’ah are expected to adorn their actions with truthfulness, integrity, and piety. Therefore, the true followers of the Infallible Imams (peace be upon them) do not consider love for them alone as sufficient for salvation, and they do not submit themselves to desires and sins, expecting to make excuses for their transgressions before Allah by claiming love for the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them).
Among the Imams (peace be upon them), Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq (peace be upon him), considering the social circumstances, found a more suitable position to express religious knowledge. Thus, he made significant efforts to cultivate true Shi’ah and to outline the criteria for true faith. Some of Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq’s (peace be upon him) statements regarding this matter are as follows:
“…The true companions [of mine] are those who are very pious, who act for their Creator, and who hope for reward from Him.”[1]
“Have piety before Allah; perform your bowing and prostration excellently; be the most obedient of Allah’s servants; indeed, you will not attain our guardianship unless you practice piety [abstaining from sin]; and you will not attain what is with Allah except through righteous deeds.”[2]
“We do not consider anyone a true believer and Shi’ah unless they follow all our commandments and desire to follow us. They must understand that one of the most important aspects of following our commands is piety and fear of Allah. So adorn yourself with piety, so that Allah may encompass you with His mercy.”[3]
“A true Shi’ah of Ja’far is one who always keeps his stomach and desires away from the forbidden and sin, whose effort is directed towards religion, and whose actions are for the sake of Allah. His hope is for His reward, and his fear is from His punishment. Whenever you see such individuals, they are the true Shi’ah of Ja’far.”[4]
In conclusion, it can be said that only those who can claim to be a “true Shi’ah” are those whose behavior and actions in every field reflect those of the great Imams. In other words, the criterion for identifying true Shi’ahs is the level of their piety, abstinence, and obedience to divine commands.
(Adapted from the book: “Research on the Doctrines of the Imamiyyah,” by: Alireza Masjed Jamali (with minor changes and additions))
Footnotes:
[1] Usul al-Kafi, Vol. 2, p. 77
[2] (Amali al-Tusi, p. 679, Hadith 1441)
[3] (Usul al-Kafi, Vol. 2, p. 78)
[4] (Usul al-Kafi, Vol. 2, p. 233)