Tradition n. 468

قَالَ رَسُولَ الله صلى الله عليه و آله و سلم:

اِنَّ اَولِيآئِي وَ اَوصِيآئِي وَ حُجَجُ اللهِ عَلَي الخَلقِ بَعدِي اِثنا عَشَر، اَوَّلُهُم اَخي وَ آخِرُهُم وَلَدِي. قِيلَ: يا رَسُولَ اللهِ! مَن اَخُوکَ؟ قالَ: عَلِي بنُ اَبِي طالِب. قِيلَ: فَمَن وُلدَک؟ قالَ: المَهدِي، الَّذي يملاَها قِسطاً وَ عَدلاً کَما مُلِئَت جَوراً وَ ظُلماً...

Hafiz Ebrahim Hamwini, as well as other traditionists, documenting from 'Abdullah Ibn 'Abbas has narrated from the Holy Prophet (S) who said: “Verily my successors and my vicegerents and the witnesses over people after me are twelve, the first of whom is my brother and the last of them is my son.” He was asked: “O' Messenger of Allah! Who is your brother?” He said: “Ali- Ibn-Abitalib.” It was said: “Then who is your son?” He said: “Al-Mahdi who will fill it (the world) with equity and justice, the same as it has been filled with cruelty and injustice.”

Fara’id as-Samtayn, vol. 2, p. 312, No. 562; Rudat al-Ahbab, by 'Ata' al-lah Ibn Fadl-Shirazi known as Jamal-ud-Din Muhaddith (Abaghat, part Thaghalayn, vol. 3, p. 337); and Yanabi al-Mawaddah, by Ghanduzi, at the beginning of chapter 78, p. 536

Note

Regarding the word 'vicegerent' and mentioning the name of Ali (‘a) as the first vicegerent and Hadrat Mahdi (‘a) as the last vicegerent out of twelve vicegerents, there will remain no doubt that this tradition and the like are the true documents for the real vicegerents.