I said to Abu Abdullah Ja’far bin Muhammad as-Sadiq (as): “May I die for you! Would you tell me about (the meaning of) the saying of Allah, “And those Foremost (in Faith) will be Foremost (in the Hereafter). These are they who are drawn nigh (to Allah)”? He said: “Allah has said that on the day when He has determined the creation in the Covenant two thousand years before creating the creatures (people).” I said: “Would you explain this for me?” He said: “When Allah had willed to create people, He made them of clay and made a fire for them. He ordered them to enter into fire. The first ones, who had entered into it, were Muhammad, Ali, al-Hasan, al-Husayn and nine imams one after the other and then their followers followed them. By Allah they are the foremost.”