قَالَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ فَاطِمَةُ بَهْجَةُ قَلْبِي وَ ابْنَاهَا ثَمَرَةُ فُؤَادِي وَ بَعْلُهَا نُورُ بَصَرِي وَ الْاَئِمَّةُ مِنْ وُلْدِهَا اُمَنَاءُ رَبِّي وَ حَبْلٌ مَمْدُودٌ بَيْنَهُ وَ بَيْنَ خَلْقِهِ مَنِ اعْتَصَمَ بِهِمْ نَجَا وَ مَنْ تَخَلَّفَ عَنْهُمْ هَوَى
The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) said,
“Fatemah is the joy of my heart. Her two sons (Hasan and Husain) are the fruits of my heart. Her husband is the light of my eyes and the Imams from her progeny are the trustees of my Lord, an extended rope between Him and His creatures. Whoever fastens unto them will be saved and whoever lags behind them will be destroyed.”
Note:
The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) never spoke of his own desire. He spoke only what was revealed to him (peace be upon him and his holy progeny). Revelation was sometimes terminological like the Holy Quran and sometimes it was not part of the Noble Quran; rather, it was Hadis Qudsi and sometimes it was his saying and part of his Sunnah. Thus, this tradition is not an expression of love of a father for his daughter or for his grandsons or his son-in-law or his descendants.
Trustees of my Lord in this narration means in their word, action and silence they should be relied upon and there is no exception to this. They are trustees in all matters i.e. their trusteeship is absolute.
[The question here is, “Why did the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) attribute the Imams (peace be upon them) to Fatemah (peace be upon her) and not to Ali (peace be upon him)?” Perhaps, the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his holy progeny) was relied upon by the Muslims at least apparently. But they did not show such faith in Ali (peace be upon him) even apparently because of their jealousy and hatred towards him. Their words and actions prove this fact as they believe that his predecessors were superior to Ali (peace be upon him)!! Therefore, if the Imams (peace be upon them) are attributed to the daughter of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his holy progeny), at least they will show some apparent respect for the Imams (peace be upon them).]
References:
1. Behaar al-Anwaar, vol. 23, p. 110, H. 16
2. Al-Taraaef of Sayed Ibn Taawoos (r.a.), vol. 1, p. 117, H. 180