(1) He is Sufyan; his biographical notice has already been given—see the Index of Persons. (2) al-Nasibah (those who harbor enmity toward ‘Ali and his followers); see Majmu‘ al-Fatawa, 25:301. (3) al-Rafidah are one of the major Shi‘i sects. They originally pledged allegiance to Zayd b. ‘Ali, but when they demanded that he repudiate the two Shaykhs—Abu Bakr and ‘Umar—and he refused, they abandoned (rafada) him, hence their name. Their principal doctrines include exclusive imamah (leadership), ‘ismah (infallibility), mahdiyyah (belief in the awaited Mahdi), taqiyyah (dissimulation), and reviling the Companions, among others. See: al-Ash‘ari, Maqalat al-Islamiyyin 1:89; al-Malti, al-Tanbih wa’l-Radd, 29–45; and al-Fayruzabadi, al-Qamus al-Muhit, s.v. r-f-d, p. 830 (Dar al-Risala ed.). (4) MS B reads: maʾthaman (“sinful act”). (5) Reported by Muslim from Asmaʾ bint Abi Bakr in the chapter “The Liar of Thaqif and Its Destroyer,” hadith 2545 (4:1971–72). Muslim’s wording differs from the version cited by the author; it reads: “Among Thaqif there will be a great liar and a ruthless destroyer.” (6) The person intended is al-Mukhtar b. Abi ‘Ubayd b. Mas‘ud b. ‘Amr al-Thaqafi. He initially detested ‘Ali, then inclined to Shi‘ism and seized Kufa, where large numbers of Shi‘a rallied to him. He fought Umayyad forces while professing loyalty to Ibn al-Zubayr, but after defeating Ibn Ziyad’s army he ruled independently and publicized his innovations—extremist Shi‘ism, divination, and the claim that revelation came to him. Mus‘ab b. al-Zubayr defeated and killed him in 67 AH/686 CE at the age of sixty-seven. See Ibn Kathir, al-Bidayah wa’l-Nihayah 8:289–92.