The Ahl al-Bayt's (A.S.) Interpretation of the Religion

Amr ibn Hurayth: I entered upon al-Imam al-Sadiq (A.S.) as he was in his brother's house, Abd Allah ibn Muhammad. I asked the Imam: May I be sacrificed to you, what made you come to this house? The Imam (A.S.) replied: In order to rest. I said: May I be sacrificed to you, shall I profess my Faith to you? He said: Yes. I professed: I worship Allah, through witnessing that there is no god save "Allah" and he is alone and does not have a partner, and Muhammad (S.A.W.) is His Servant and Messenger, and the Resurrection will come without any doubt; and Allah will raise whomever lying in grave; and also through performing prayers, paying Zakat, and the fasting in the month of Ramadan, the Hajj of the House of Allah, the Wilayah (love) of Amir al-Mu'minin(A.S.), after professing the Wilayah of the Messenger of Allah (S.A.W.), the Wilayah of al-Hasan(A.S.) and al-Husayn(A.S.), and Ali ibn al-Husayn(A.S.), and Muhammad ibn Ali(A.S.), and you [Imam al-Sadiq(A.S.)]next to him, and that you are my Imams, and I live and die to this doctrine by which I worship Allah. The Imam (A.S.) said: O Amr! By Allah, this is the religion of Allah and of my ancestors by which I worship Allah in secret and in the openness.
It is related that al-Ma'mun sent Fadl ibn Sahl Dhu al-Riasatayn to al-Imam al-Reza (A.S.). He said to the Imam (A.S.): I would like you to compile for me(the precepts of) the lawful and the unlawful, obligatory rules, and traditions in one place, for you are Hujjah of Allah for the people and mine of the Knowledge. Imam al-Reza (A.S.) asked for paper and pen and told al-Fadl to write.
In The Name of Allah the Compassionate, the Merciful
It suffices us to bear witness that there is no God but Allah, who is the One and Only, and the Eternal, Absolute; He has neither a spouse nor children; He is Self-subsistent and Sighted; He is Powerful and Perpetual, and an Ever lasting Light; He is an Alim not an ignorant; He is a Powerful One from whom powerlessness is away; He is the Rich One who has no needs; He is a Judge who does no injustice; He has created everything, nothing is similar to Him; and nothing is contrary to Him nor is there anyone like unto Him.
Muhammad (S.A.W.) is His servant and Messenger, His trusted and chosen one among His servants, and the Master of the Messengers and the Seal of the Prophets. He is the superior of all worlds after whom there will come no prophet; his doctrine will not change nor transform, and whatever he has brought is evident truth. We confirm whatever Muhammad (S.A.W.) has brought and acknowledge the previous Divine Prophets and Messengers and Allah's Proofs (Hujjahs), and confirm his truthful Book: "No falsehood can approach it from before or behind it: It is sent down by One full of Wisdom, worthy of all Praise" (41:42).
And that the Qur'an is the guardian of all other revealed books, and it is pure truth from the beginning to the end. We believe in its unequivalent and ambiguous verses, its specific and generic, its promises and admonitions, its abrogating and abrogated, and its information, and none of the creatures can bring its like; and that the guide and the proof next to him for believes and the authority to the Muslims and the talking Qur'an and the learned in ordinances, and his [the Prophet's (S.A.W.)] brother, successor, and legatee, namely Amir al-Mu'minin (A.S.) who was for his Holiness (S.A.W.) like Aaron to Moses. He was the Imam of the Pious, pioneer of the fair-faced and the fair-handed and the fair footed, and leader of the faithful, and the best of the successors next to any Prophet; and followed by him are al-Hasan(A.S.) and al-Husayn(A.S.) [and others] one after another continued up to the present, and all are from the household of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.), who are the most aware of the whole Book and the Tradition, and are the most Just in Judgment in every age, and the most meritorious of all to Imamate. They are the most firm handle, the Imams of guidance, and the authorities to the people of the world until Allah inherits the world and whatever in it, for He is the best of the inheritors. And [I bear witness] that anyone who contradicts them (the Ahl al-Bayt) is a misled robber who had put aside the truth and guidance. It is only they who are the expositors of the Qur'an and the preachers of the Holy Prophet's (S.A.W.) words. Anyone who dies and does not get to know them and does not practice love and affection towards them in the name of them and fathers, he will die as a pagan.
Abd al-Azim ibn Abd Allah al-Hasani: I entered my master, Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Musa ibn Ja'far ibn Muhammad ibn Ali ibn al-Husayn ibn Ali Abi Talib (A.S.). When he saw me he said: O Abu al-Qasim! Welcome! You are indeed devoted to us. I said: O son of the Messenger of Allah! I want to profess my faith to you so that if it is approved I persist in it until meeting Allah, the Almighty. The Imam (A.S.) said: Profess it O Abu al-Qasim. I said: I believe that: The Almighty Allah is One and there is none like Him; He transcends both refutation and anthropomorphism; neither has he a body nor a form nor accidence nor substance. Rather, He is the One who grants corporeality to the bodies, and image to the forms, and creates accidences and substances; He is the Sustainer, Lord, Creator, and Maker of every phenomena; and that Muhammad (S.A.W.) is His Servant and Messenger, the Seal of the Prophets after whom there will come no other Prophet until the Resurrection Day; his Doctrine is the final one, and after that will not come any other doctrine until the Day of Judgment.
I believe that Imam and the successor and the authority next to him [the Holy Prophet(S.A.W.)] is Amir al-Mu'minin Ali ibn Abi Talib (A.S.), followed by al-Hasan (A.S.), al-Husayn(A.S.), Ali ibn al-Husayn(A.S.), Muhammad ibn Ali(A.S.), Ja'far ibn Muhammad(A.S.), Musa ibn Ja'far(A.S.), Ali ibn Musa(A.S.), Muhammad ibn Ali(A.S.), and then you, O my master! Imam Hadi (A.S.) said: After me my son, al-Hasan, will succeed me; but how will his successor be among people? I asked: How will it be my master? He said: He will not be seen personally, and it is not proper to utter his name until he revolts and fills the Earth with justice as it has been filled with injustice and oppression. I said: I acknowledge all that.
I believe: Their friend is the friend of Allah, and their enemy is the enemy of Allah; obedience to them is obedience to Allah and rebellion against them is rebellion against Allah. I assert that Miraj [nightly ascension of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.)], questioning and answering in the grave, the Paradise and the Hell and the Resurrection are true and there is no doubt in them and Allah will raise everyone who is lying in the grave.
I believe obligatory duties next to wilayah are prayer, zakat, fasting hajj, jihad, and enjoining the good and prohibiting the evil.
Ali ibn Muhammad (A.S.) said: O Abu al-Qasim! I Swear by Allah this is the Faith chosen by Allah for His servants. Stand firm on it; may Allah keep you steadfast on this belief and stable in the world and Hereafter.
Source: Ahl al-Bayt (A.S.) in the Holy Qur'an and Hadith
By: Ayatullah Muhammadi Rayshahri