أَنَا بِهِ زَعِيمٌ إِنَّهُ لَا يَهِيجُ عَلَى التَّقْوَى زَرْعُ قَوْمٍ وَ لَا يَظْمَأُ عَنْهُ سِنْخُ أَصْلٍ وَ إِنَّ الْخَيْرَ كُلَّهُ فِيمَنْ عَرَفَ قَدْرَهُ وَ كَفَى بِالْمَرْءِ جَهْلًا أَنْ لَا يَعْرِفَ قَدْرَهُ وَ إِنَّ أَبْغَضَ الْخَلْقِ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ رَجُلٌ وَكَلَهُ إِلَى نَفْسِهِ جَائِرٌ عَنْ قَصْدِ السَّبِيلِ مَشْغُوفٌ بِكَلَامِ بِدْعَةٍ قَدْ لَهِجَ فِيهَا بِالصَّوْمِ وَ الصَّلَاةِ فَهُوَ فِتْنَةٌ لِمَنِ افْتَتَنَ بِهِ ضَالٌّ عَنْ هَدْىِ مَنْ كَانَ قَبْلَهُ مُضِلٌّ لِمَنِ اقْتَدَى بِهِ حَمَّالٌ خَطَايَا غَيْرِهِ رَهِينٌ بِخَطِيئَتِهِ قَدْ قَمَشَ جَهْلًا فِي جُهَّالٍ غَشُوهُ غَارٌّ بِأَغْبَاشِ الْفِتْنَةِ عَمًى عَنِ الْهُدَى قَدْ سَمَّاهُ أَشْبَاهُ النَّاسِ عَالِماً وَ لَمْ يَغْنَ فِيهِ يَوْماً سَالِماً بَكَّرَ فَاسْتَكْثَرَ مِمَّا ١قَلَّ مِنْهُ خَيْرٌ مِمَّا كَثُرَ حَتَّى إِذَا ارْتَوَى مِنْ آجِنٍ وَ اسْتَكْثَرَ مِنْ غَيْرِ طَائِلٍ جَلَسَ لِلنَّاسِ قَاضِياً ضَامِناً لِتَخْلِيصِ مَا الْتَبَسَ عَلَى غَيْرِهِ إِنْ خَالَفَ مَنْ سَبَقَهُ لَمْ يَأْمَنْ مِنْ نَقْضِ حُكْمِهِ مَنْ يَأْتِي بَعْدَهُ كَفِعْلِهِ بِمَنْ كَانَ قَبْلَهُ وَ إِنْ نَزَلَتْ بِهِ إِحْدَى الْمُهِمَّاتِ هَيَّأَ لَهَا حَشْواً مِنْ رَأْيِهِ ثُمَّ قَطَعَ عَلَيْهِ فَهُوَ مِنْ لَبْسِ الشُّبُهَاتِ فِي مِثْلِ غَزْلِ الْعَنْكَبُوتِ لَا يَدْرِي أَصَابَ أَمْ أَخْطَأَ وَ لَا يَرَى أَنَّ مِنْ وَرَاءِ مَا بَلَغَ مَذْهَباً إِنْ قَاسَ شَيْئاً بِشَيْ ءٍ لَمْ يُكَذِّبْ رَأْيَهُ وَ إِنْ أَظْلَمَ عَلَيْهِ أَمْرٌ اكْتَتَمَ بِهِ لِمَا يَعْلَمُ مِنْ نَفْسِهِ مِنَ الْجَهْلِ وَ النَّقْصِ وَ الضَّرُورَةِ كَيْلَا يُقَالَ إِنَّهُ لَا يَعْلَمُ ثُمَّ أَقْدَمَ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ فَهُوَ خَائِضُ عَشَوَاتٍ رَكَّابُ شُبُهَاتٍ خَبَّاطُ جَهَالاتٍ لَا يَعْتَذِرُ مِمَّا لَا يَعْلَمُ فَيَسْلَمَ وَ لَا يَعَضُّ فِي الْعِلْمِ بِضِرْسٍ قَاطِعٍ فَيَغْنَمَ يَذْرِي الرِّوَايَاتِ ذَرْوَ الرِّيحِ الْهَشِيمَ تَبْكِي مِنْهُ الْمَوَارِيثُ وَ تَصْرُخُ مِنْهُ الدِّمَاءُ وَ يُسْتَحَلُّ بِقَضَائِهِ الْفَرْجُ الْحَرَامُ وَ يُحَرَّمُ بِهِ الْحَلَالُ لَا يَسْلَمُ بِإِصْدَارِ مَا عَلَيْهِ وَرَدَ وَ لَا يَنْدَمُ عَلَى مَا مِنْهُ فَرَّطَ أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ عَلَيْكُمْ بِالطَّاعَةِ وَ الْمَعْرِفَةِ بِمَنْ لَا تُعْذَرُونَ بِجَهَالَتِهِ فَإِنَّ الْعِلْمَ الَّذِي هَبَطَ بِهِ آدَمُ وَ جَمِيعَ مَا فُضِّلَتْ بِهِ النَّبِيُّونَ إِلَى مُحَمَّدٍ خَاتَمِ النَّبِيِّينَ فِي عِتْرَةِ مُحَمَّدٍ صلى اللّٰه عليه و آله فَأَيْنَ يُتَاهُ بِكُمْ بَلْ أَيْنَ تَذْهَبُونَ يَا مَنْ نُسِخَ مِنْ أَصْلَابِ أَصْحَابِ السَّفِينَةِ فَهَذِهِ مَثَلُهَا فِيكُمْ فَارْكَبُوهَا فَكَمَا نَجَا فِي هَاتِيكَ مَنْ نَجَا كَذَلِكَ يَنْجُو فِي هَذِي ٢ مَنْ دَخَلَهَا أَنَا رَهِينٌ بِذَلِكَ قَسَماً حَقّاً وَ مَا أَنَا مِنَ الْمُتَكَلِّفِينَ الْوَيْلُ لِمَنْ تَخَلَّفَ ثُمَّ الْوَيْلُ لِمَنْ تَخَلَّفَ أَ مَا بَلَغَكُمْ مَا قَالَ فِيهِمْ نَبِيُّكُمْ صلى اللّٰه عليه و آله حَيْثُ يَقُولُ فِي حَجَّةِ الْوَدَاعِ إِنِّي تَارِكٌ فِيكُمُ الثَّقَلَيْنِ مَا إِنْ تَمَسَّكْتُمْ بِهِمَا لَنْ تَضِلُّوا بَعْدِي كِتَابَ اللَّهِ وَ عِتْرَتِي أَهْلَ بَيْتِي وَ إِنَّهُمَا لَنْ يَفْتَرِقَا حَتَّى يَرِدَا عَلَیَّ الْحَوْضَ فَانْظُرُوا كَيْفَ تَخْلُفُونِّي فِيهِمَا أَلَا هذا عَذْبٌ فُراتٌ فَاشْرَبُوا وَ هذا مِلْحٌ أُجاجٌ فَاجْتَنِبُوا.

I stand surety for their truth: the sowing of a people founded upon God-fearing will not wither and turn yellow, nor will its root remain thirsty and without water; and all good lies in one who knows his own measure and worth. It is enough ignorance in a man that he does not know his own worth. Truly the most hateful of people to God, exalted, is a man whom God has left to himself and who swerves aside from the straight path: he is pleased with the speech of innovation and is captivated by his fasting and his prayer; such a one is a trial (and a testing) for those who are beguiled by his words. He has gone astray from the path of guidance that people before him walked, and he leads astray those who follow him. He bears the errors and sins of others and is pledged for his own error. He has gathered within himself ignorance upon ignorance from this side and that, among the blind-hearted ignorant; in the darknesses of sedition and corruption he is heedless of everything, and he is blind to being led and to guidance. Those who merely resemble human beings (who have a man's form) call such a one a scholar, though he has not spent a single day acquiring it. Every morning he has risen seeking to increase something of which little is better than much, until he reached it and drank his fill from that stale and putrid water, and immoderately heaped up what is of no use (or stuffed himself with useless things). He has seated himself (and made himself ready) to judge among people and has taken upon himself to expound what is obscure and uncertain to others. If in his judgement he differs from those before him, he has no assurance that those who come after him will not break his ruling (and judge contrary to it), just as he did with those before him. And if one of the difficult questions is put to him, he prepares for answering that question meaningless and useless words out of his own opinion, and then he is certain of those very (useless and meaningless) words he has uttered. Because truths remain hidden from him and matters are confused for him (and he has fallen into flimsy and feeble affairs), such a one is like one who has fallen into a spider's web: he does not know whether he has spoken (and judged) rightly or gone wrong, and he sees no path beyond what he has reached (and supposes that only what he has understood and conceived with his short understanding and corrupt opinion is sound and right). If he measures one thing by another, he does not count false what he has understood and gained from it; and if a matter remains hidden from him, he conceals it — for he is aware of his own ignorance and shortcoming, and has had to speak about what he did not know lest it be said that he does not know. Then (in such a state) he proceeds with ignorance of the truth (in that affair) and plunges into the darknesses (of ignorance), and mounts the steed of many uncertainties, and falls into much error in his ignorance. He will not excuse himself for what he does not know (and has ruled upon unknowingly), so that he might be at ease and safe; and he has not sunk a cutting tooth into knowledge (and has not investigated it) so that he might profit. He scatters the reports as the wind scatters dry plants. Inheritances (which, because of his unjust ruling, did not reach their owners) weep at (his wrong), and the bloods (shed by his false ruling) cry out. By his (ill-placed) judgement unlawful private parts are made lawful, and the unlawful is made lawful. He is not at ease or safe in returning what has issued from him, nor does he repent of what has come from him (in ignorance). O company of people, you must follow and know the one whom you have no excuse for not knowing (what is meant is the knowledge of the Imams of religion, peace be upon them, and following them). For the knowledge that Adam, peace be upon him, brought down (from heaven), and all that by which the prophets gained excellence until it reached your Prophet, the Seal of the Prophets, is all of it with the progeny (and household) of your Prophet Muhammad, may God bless him and his family. So where are you bewildered? Nay, where are you going, O you who were drawn forth (or born) from the loins of the companions of the Ark (that is, O children of those who boarded Noah's Ark)? The likeness of the progeny among you is the likeness of Noah's Ark: so board it, and as those saved in that Ark were saved, whoever enters this Ark will be saved. And what I say, I say under oath, pledged to these words; I speak no falsehood. Woe to him who turns away from it, then woe to him who turns away! Has what your Prophet, may God bless him and his family, said concerning them not reached you (have you not heard it), that on the Farewell Pilgrimage he said: (O people) I leave among you two weighty things; if you hold fast to them you will never go astray after me: the Book of God (the Qur'an) and my progeny, the People of my House; and these two will not part from each other until they come to me at the Pool of Kawthar. So look to how you deal with these two after me. Know that this (that is, holding fast to the progeny) is sweet and pleasant water, so drink of it; and that other (that is, turning away from them) is salt and bitter water, so beware of it.