“Once I was in the presence of Abu Ja‘far the second (AS) and I mentioned the differences among the Shi‘a. The Imam (AS) said: “O Muhammad, Allah, the Most Holy, the Most High, is One in his being eternal. He created Muhammad, Ali and Fatima (sa). They were there for a thousand Dahr. Then He created all other things. He made them witness the creation of all other things, made obedience to them obligatory and gave them control of the affairs of the creation. They can, thus, make lawful whatever they would wish and unlawful whatever they would wish and they would never wish anything unless Allah, the Most Holy, the Most High, would wish. He then said, “O Muhammad, this is a religion that if exaggerated, would lead to extremism and ignoring it would cause degradation. Those holding to it properly will have proper contact. Keep it with you, O Muhammad.”