The notion of the Imam of the time (Hazar Imam) as the source of human salvation was underscored by Nizar Quhistani, in the following verse:

“Salvation is to be found in the Imam of the Time.

I found the essence of faith in obedience to the command of his representative.

I have given up everything except that contained in the Quranic verse ‘offspring, one of the other’.

Ever since I found the Imamate, permanently in human form, I have known no other guide than the living, everlasting Imam,

For in his command, I have found peace in both the worlds.”

The necessity of a living Imam in every age according to the changing needs and circumstances of people is echoed in the following lines:

“My lover appears in different forms,

Because for each period there comes a new guidance;

One after the other, there  follows another Qaim  Imam Ali.”

Source: The Ismailis in the Middle Ages: A History of Survival, a Search for Salvation by Shafique N. Virani, Hardcover – May 3, 2007

Related Literary Readings:
♦ Literary Reading: The Devotion of Nizar Quhistani
♦ Literary Reading: The “Light” that will keep on burning