[Appointing the Ahl al-Bayt of the Prophet as His Caliphs]

From the foregoing, it became clear that it is incumbent upon Allah, in every time after the Prophet , to appoint someone on His behalf as a Malik, Imam, and caliph on the Earth, so that through that person, He makes it possible for the people of every time—just as for those of the time of the Prophet —to obtain certainty regarding the entire Sunnah of the Prophet —just as certainty regarding the entire Quran. In this way, He grants everyone a fair opportunity to apply the rulings of Islam in a pure and perfect manner. It is clear that, to know Allah’s appointee in this position, there is no choice but to refer to Allah, and referring to Allah is possible by referring to His Book and His Prophet; for His Book and His Prophet definitely represent His will and action. It should be noted, however, that referring to His Prophet for those who come after him—unlike for those of his time—is only possible by referring to widely transmitted reports from him; because only widely transmitted reports from him definitely represent his will and action, and a solitary report from him does not provide certainty regarding his will and action.

In all fairness, referring to Allah’s Book and widely transmitted reports from His Prophet—when done in the light of intellect and free from the impediments to knowing such as imitation, fanaticism, and desires of the self—necessarily leads to certainty that Allah has appointed the Ahl al-Bayt of His Prophet as Maliks, Imams, and caliphs on the Earth, as stated explicitly in Allah’s Book addressing them: ﴿إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيُذْهِبَ عَنْكُمُ الرِّجْسَ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ وَيُطَهِّرَكُمْ تَطْهِيرًا﴾[1]; “Indeed, Allah wants to remove any impurity from you, O Ahl al-Bayt, and make you completely pure”—given that Allah’s intended meaning of “rijs” here cannot be material or outward impurity, but rather spiritual and inward impurity; as He has used the term in this sense, saying: ﴿كَذَلِكَ يَجْعَلُ اللَّهُ الرِّجْسَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ﴾[2]; “This is how Allah places rijs upon those who do not believe,” and: ﴿وَيَجْعَلُ الرِّجْسَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ لَا يَعْقِلُونَ﴾[3]; “And He places rijs upon those who do not use intellect.”