Surah 4:59
"You who believe! Obey God, and obey the messenger and those (who have) the command among you. If you argue about anything, refer it to God and the messenger, if you believe in God and the Last Day. That is better and fairer in interpretation."
4.59 â You who believe! Obey God, and obey the messenger
Commands to obey âthe messengerâ appear several times in SÅ«ra 4 (also vv. 13, 69; cf. vv. 14, 42). Such verses became very important in the writings of the influential Muslim jurist al-ShÄfiâÄ« (d. 820), who insisted they gave divine authority to the sayings (âhadithâ) attributed to Muhammad. See the summary of commands to obey the messenger at 64.12.
Shiâite Muslims, on the other hand, believe that the phrase âand those (who have) command among youâ refers to the line of twelve âImamsâ who lead the Shiâa community.
- from The Quran with Christian Commentary: A Guide to Understanding the Scripture of Islam