Proving the Similarity between the Obligation to Obey Prophet Mohammad (S) and the Obligation to Obey Imam Ali (AS) according to Shiite and Sunni Sources

According to the famous Shiite view, in the verse of Mobahalah, Ali (AS) is introduced as the soul of Prophet Mohammad (S), which requires that Ali (AS) be like him in all attributes and characteristics. The main issue in this research is to demonstrate the similarity between the obligation to obey Prophet Mohammad and the obligation to obey Imam Ali (AS), that is, just as obedience to the Prophet (S) is obligatory according to the verses of the Quran, obedience to Ali (AS) is also obligatory according to the narrations quoted from the Prophet (S). In this study, we seek to prove the hypothesis that not only in Shiite sources there is evidence to verify the similarity between obedience to the Prophet (S) and obedience to Imam Ali (AS), but also in Sunni sources such arguments could be found. Evidence for this can be obtained from the following hadiths of the Prophet (S): "Whoever obeys Ali (AS) has obeyed me", "Obedience to Ali (AS) is obligatory like obedience to me", "Obedience to you is obedience to me", "Every obedience is obligatory towards the Prophet, it is also obligatory towards Ali". In this study, while examining the sources of these narrations in Shiite and Sunni works, we come to the conclusion that obedience to Ali (AS) is the same as obedience to the Prophet (S).