According to the Qur’an, the fruit of these two is “taqwa”‌ (piety), and those who are pious will enter paradise for sure:

“للذين اتقوا عند ربهم جنات تجري من تحتها الانهار”‌ [5].

Conclusion of what was said till now:
The essence of salvation is taqwa which means to completely obey all of Allah’s (swt) and His messenger’s (PBUH) commands.

Although taqwa has different degrees, the least needed to possess it is to perform all wajib duties and refrain from all sins. So a prerequisite to taqwa would be to learn about what things are wajib and what things are forbidden and haram in Islam so that we can perform and refrain from them respectfully.

One of the prophet’s (PBUH) most important commands is to know and obey his true successors (imams). [6] Clearly, anyone who doesn’t believe in them verbally, in the heart and in his/her actions, cannot be considered a true believer and righteous person and lacks taqwa, because he hasn’t obeyed the prophet (PBUH) in one of the most important things he has asked us to do.

Significant Point:

According to verse 59 of surah Nisa, obeying “those vested with authority”‌ is obligatory, to the extent that obeying them has been considered equal to obeying Allah (swt) and their disobedience, His disobedience. What needs to be mentioned here is that they must be infallible, making them invulnerable to any form of sin and even mistake. It isn't true to say that anyone who becomes ruler of the Muslim nation, falls under the category of “those vested with authority”‌, because if those vested with authority weren’t to be infallible, there would always be chances of their commands not being in correspondence with Allah’s (swt) and His messenger’s (PBUH), hence the discrepancy between the order of obeying Allah (swt) and obeying those vested with authority [for instance, if the imams were mistakenly to say something isn't mandatory, while Allah (swt) says it is, there is clear contradiction between saying both Allah (swt) and they have to be obeyed; it is impossible!].

Now that we have spoken about how believing in the imams plays a role in our salvation [which was that since it is obedience of one of the prophet’s (PBUH) most important commands, it is part of taqwa], it is good to speak a bit about what role the imams play in the salvation of people and society and in whether one will go to heaven or hell. [7]

To be continued …

For further information, see:

1- Hell and Non-Muslims, Question 47 (site: 283)

2- Attentive ignorant individuals and deliverance from the hellfire, Question 323 (site: 1751)

Notes:

[5] Ale-Imran: 15.

[6] Nisa’:59; Shura: 23; Al-Mustadrak alal-Sahihain, vol. 3, pg. 109.

[7] Of course, the subject of the need of people for an imam is one that calls for an extensive discussion, in which isn't the theme of this article.

Source:  Tebyan