Kinship to God is attained by practice.

Observe what God (S.W.T) says: {It will not be in accordance with your desires, nor the desires of the people of the Scripture. He who does wrong will have the recompense there of, and will not find against Allah any protecting friend or helper. And who so does good works, whether male or female and he (or she) is a believer, such will enter paradise and they will not be wronged in a date-stone} (Women: 123,124). These two verses signify the importance of the person’s deeds in being either closer to God or cropped off. Allah warns man, even if he were a prophet, a saint or an infallible, of His wrath once this man is an evil- doer. He reminds us that there is no kinship to Allah (S.W.T). Man shouldn’t be over –optimistic that his religion or his kinship to the prophets or saints (very pious people) would save him on the day of Resurrection. If this is man’s case, he should immediately wake up from his dreams; it is just a dream that would never come true. The heaven can’t be dwelled, seen, or touched unless the person works according to God’s commands.

Notice this verse: {It will not be in accordance with your desires}. It is a warning to both Muslims and the people of the Scripture (holy books) that neither their religion nor their kinship to any of the prophets would save them from God’s wrath: {and they say: None enters Paradise unless he be a Jew or a Christian. These are their own desires} (The Cow: 111). There is a Divine Mercy. But it is restricted to the believers who are good-doers. Evildoers are emphatically punished. The first question raised by Allah in the day of Resurrection will be about one’s deeds that will determine his destiny? It is an indication that evildoers are evidently refuted from heaven. They are isolated with no protecting friends or helpers; they would be dispersed. In fact, it is deliberately clear that there is no role for any intercessor to any kind of person {On that Day no intercession avail save that unto whom the Beneficent has given leave and whose He accepts}. (Taha: 109). And also: {He knows what is before them and what is behind them, and they cannot intercede except for him whom He accepts, and they quake for awe of Him} (The prophets: 28).

There are no personal wishes… Those who intervene are programmed according to a Divine course drawn by Allah (S.W.T). They do not act out of their own will, but they know what Allah (S.W.T) wants and act accordingly.

These verses begin by telling people about the importance of their deeds in elevating or destructing them. Man is classified according to his own deeds. The following verse also shows the greatness of one’s deed in his life: {And say (unto them): Act! Allah will behold your actions and so will His Messenger and the believers.} (Repentance: 105).

The Nature of loyalty.

Accordingly, it must be understood that our love and attachment to the Prophet (p.) and the Members of the House (a.s.) doesn’t guarantee our entrance to heaven. We have to realize that out loyalty to them ought to spring from out loyalty to God and to His heavenly messengers as well. Allah (S.W.T) wants us to love them, but  through our love to Him, for our relation with the prophets and the infallibles is an indirect relation with Allah; it is a relation with the leadership. Our love to them must not be considered or taken as any personal love similar to the way we love somebody; this is a false conception.  It should be a love, which is channeled to God. The following Quranic verse clarifies the above-mentioned ideas: {Say, O Muhammad to mankind: if ye love Allah, follow me, Allah will love you and forgive you your sins.} (The Family of Imran: 31) Loving God means our loving His mission, loving His prophets and at the same time following them in all their religious movement; it also means working hard and restraining ourselves from any worldly deviation. Imam Zain Al-Abideen (a.s.) comments on this by saying: loving God means our total obedience and faithfulness to Him.

The Guardianship and God fearing:

Furthermore, Imam Al-Baker (a.s.), on his comment on the nature of following the Members of the House, once said: “Is it enough for a Shiite to say that he loves Ali (a.s.), and that he is loyal to him without real practice, for we all know that the Prophet is more important than Ali, and is it enough for our saying that we love the Prophet (p.) without following Him in all his deeds?” Then he swore saying: “What does a declaration of immunity by Allah mean? Whoever is loyal to God, he is then loyal to us, and whoever is God’s enemy, then he is our enemy. By Allah, being loyal to us is not easily attained unless the person is God’s fearing.” Moreover, one of Imam As-Sadiq’s companions asked the Imam: “You have said “if you knew”, do what ever you want; which means that your loyalty to the Members of the House would save you even if you committed adultery or stole. Is this saying true?” Here Imam As-Assadik (a.s.) replied saying This is not true. This saying means, “if you Knew” if you are loyal to us, you should be a good doer. Your deeds as humans need a foundation {And he who has done some good works, being a believer, he fears not injustice nor begrudging of his wage}. (Taha: 112). You should practice properly all the Islamic laws.

Finally, Dear ones, we have to know that affiliation to God, to His Holy messengers, and Imams means that you ought to be the embodiment and the application of good deeds, deeds which benefit Islam and help in its progress. It is not a word we say, a tear we pour, a sigh we raise, nor a cry, we burst or a pulse in the heart, but rather it is a stance we show, and a deed we do to be real followers to the Members of the House.