عُمَرَ بْنِ يَزِيدَ قَالَ قَالَ لِي اَبُو عَبْدِ اللّهِؑ اَنْتُمْ وَ اللّهِ مِنْ آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ قُلْتُ مِنْ اَنْفُسِهِمْ جُعِلْتُ فِدَاكَ قَالَ نَعَمْ وَ اللّهِ مِنْ اَنْفُسِهِمْ قَالَهَا ثَلَاثاً ثُمَّ نَظَرَ اِلَيَّ وَ نَظَرْتُ اِلَيْهِ فَقَالَ يَا عُمَرُ اِنَّ اللهَ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ يَقُولُ فِي كِتَابِهِ اِنَّ اَوْلَى النَّاسِ بِاِبْراهِيمَ لَلَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوهُ وَ هذَا النَّبِيُّ وَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَ اللَّهُ وَلِيُّ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
Umar Ibn Yazid reports, “Imam Abu Abdillah (al-Sadeq a.s.) told me, ‘By Allah! You are from the progeny of Muhammad.’ I asked, ‘From themselves, may I be held your ransom?’ He (peace be upon him) retorted, ‘Yes, by Allah, from themselves.’ And he (peace be upon him) repeated this thrice. Thereafter, he (peace be upon him) looked at me and I looked at him. He (peace be upon him) said,
‘O Umar! Surely, Allah – Mighty and Majestic be He – says in His Book, Verily the closest to Ibrahim of the people are those who follow him and this Prophet and those who believed. And Allah is the Master of the believers’[1].”
Note:
The Saadaat (i.e. the progeny of the infallible guides a.s.) should all be revered. But if a person follows the Ahle Bait (peace be upon them), should he also be revered? Yes. In fact, the value of following is more than the value of lineage (قيمة اتباع اكثر من قيمة انتساب). For example, if a non-sayyed is of the level of Salman (r.a.), should he be revered or not? Here, Imam Sadeq (peace be upon him) laid down a very important principle, He (peace be upon him) said, “Those who follow him (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) are the progeny of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his holy progeny).”
Also, if a Sayyed commits sins, his punishment is double than that of a non-Sayyed.
References:
1. Behaar, vol. 23, p. 225, H. 43
2. Majma’ al-Bayan under the verse
[1] Surah Aale Imran (3): Verse 68