2. It is narrated from him (narrator of the Hadith above) from ‘Abd Allah ibn Muskan from abu al-‘Abbas who has said the following: “Once I asked Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) about the minimum degree of al-Shirk (paganism). The Imam said, ‘It is one’s inventing an opinion and thereafter love and hate (people) on that basis.’”

3. A number of our people have narrated from Sahl ibn Ziyad from Yahya ibn al- Mubarak from ‘Abd Allah ibn Jabalah from Sama’a from abu Basir and Ishaq ibn ‘Ammar from Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) who has said the following: “About the words of Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, ‘Most of them do not believe in Allah; they are but pagans,’ (12:106) the Imam said, ‘They obey Satan without realizing it and so they grow to be pagans.’”

4. Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from Muhammad ibn ‘Isa from Yunus from ibn Bukayr from Durays from Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) who has said the following: “About the words of Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, ‘Most of them do not believe in Allah; they are but pagans,’ (12:106) the Imam said, ‘Al-Shirk (paganism) is obedience and it is not worship,’ and the words of Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, ‘ . . . certain people worship Allah to achieve worldly gains. . . .,’ (22:11) the Imam said, ‘A verse comes down about a man and then it applies to his followers.’ I then said, ‘Do those who appoint others (as people possessing Divine Authority) instead of you ( Ahl al-Bayt) worship for worldly gains?’ The Imam said, ‘Yes, at certain cases it is just that ( al - Shirk ).’”

5. Yunus has narrated from Dawud ibn Farqad from Hassan al-Jammal from ‘Amirah who has said the following: “I heard Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) saying, ‘People are commanded to know us ( Ahl al-Bayt ), and they are referred to us and to submit to us.’ The Imam then said, ‘If they fast, perform prayers, testify that there is no one who deserves to be worshipped except Allah but keep it in themselves and do not refer to us for guidance, for this they will be considered Mushrik, (considering things as partners of Allah).”’

6. Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from his father from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn abu Nasr from ‘Abd Allah ibn Yahya al-Kahili who has said the following: “Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.) has said, ‘If a people worship Allah alone and do not consider anything as His partner, perform the prayer, pay al-Zakat (charity), perform Hajj of the Sacred House, fast in the month of Ramadan and then say about something Allah has done or the Holy Prophet has done, “Why not is it done as such and such?” Or they find such things in their hearts, for this they will turn into Mushrik, considering things as partners of Allah.’ The Imam then read this verse of the Holy Quran: ‘I swear by your Lord that they will not be considered believers until they allow you to settle their disputes and then they will find nothing in their souls to prevent them from accepting your judgment, thus, submitting themselves to the will of Allah.’ (4:65) Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.) then said, ‘You must submit yourselves (to the command of Allah)”’

7. A number of our people have narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Khalid from his father from ‘Abd Allah ibn Yahya from ‘Abd Allah ibn Muskan from abu Basir who has said the following: “Once I asked Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) about the words of Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, ‘. . . they (unconditionally) obeyed the rabbis and the monks. ... as they should have obeyed Allah. . . .’ (9:31) The Imam said, ‘By Allah, they (rabbis and monks) did not call the people to worship them. Had they done so people would not have listened to them. They, however, made certain things lawful and unlawful as they liked and people obeyed and worshipped them without realizing the evil in such worship.’”