God or Servant of God A Look at the Hadith “Do not Consider Us as god”

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Abstract

In Shi’i sources, the following hadith has been quoted from the Infallible
Imams: “Do not consider us as god and narrate whatever you want of
our virtues”. Though this hadith has been rejected by some schools of
thought as a forged one, it has valid chain of narrators and its references
correspond to religious standards. This hadith has been narrated in various
forms in Shi’i sources and it is referring mainly to two points: first, rejection
of extremism; and, the other, explanation of the scope of stations of the
Household (A.S). On the one hand, this hadith fights against extremist
ideas and, on the other, it mentions the loftiness of the stations of the
Infallible Imams. After discussing the content and the chain of narrators of
this hadith, the present writing goes to explain its references and provide
replies to objections posed against it.