Hadith
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported:
A Bedouin came to the Prophet ﷺ and said,
“Guide me to an action which, if I do it, I will enter Paradise.”
He ﷺ replied:
“Worship Allah and do not associate anything with Him; establish the prescribed Salah; give the obligatory Zakat; and fast the month of Ramadan.”
The man said,
“By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, I will not do any more than this nor any less.”
When he turned away, the Prophet ﷺ said:
“Whoever wishes to look at a man from the people of Paradise, let him look at this one.”
وَعَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ قَالَ: أَتَى أَعْرَابِيٌّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَالَ: دُلَّنِي عَلَى عَمَلٍ إِذَا عَمِلْتُهُ دَخَلْتُ الْجَنَّةَ. قَالَ: «تَعْبُدُ اللَّهَ وَلَا تُشْرِكُ بِهِ شَيْئًا وَتُقِيمُ الصَّلَاةَ الْمَكْتُوبَةَ وَتُؤَدِّي الزَّكَاةَ الْمَفْرُوضَةَ وَتَصُومُ رَمَضَانَ» . قَالَ: وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ لَا أَزِيدُ عَلَى هَذَا شَيْئًا وَلَا أَنْقُصُ مِنْهُ. فَلَمَّا وَلَّى قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «مَنْ سَرَّهُ أَنْ يَنْظُرَ إِلَى رَجُلٍ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْجنَّة فَلْينْظر إِلَى هَذَا»
Sahih Al-Bukhari 1397
Ponder This Hadith
If belief in the Imamat and obedience to the Imam are essential for salvation, why were they not explicitly mentioned by the Prophet ﷺ?
How, according to Ismaili belief, would a person who fulfills only the five pillars enter Paradise? If belief in an Imam is required for deeds to be accepted, on what basis would such a person be saved?