Indications of the Imam & Proofs for Cognisance of Him

Muḥammad al-ʿAṭṭār, from al-Ashʿarī, from ʿAbd al-Ṣamad b. Muḥammad, from Ḥannān b. Sudayr, from Abī ʿAbd Allāh عليه السلام, from his father, who said: “Imamate is not rightfully rendered to anyone but a man who has three characteristics: scrupulous piety that wards him from all that which is forbidden, forbearance with which he controls his anger, and excellent rulership over those placed under his care, such that he is to them like a compassionate father.”