= We have encountered people who claim and display love for Ali, then attach themselves to whomever they choose, believe what they like, and say what they like. By doing so, they have been labeled as belonging to al-rafḍ (rejectionism) and al-tashayyuʿ (Shiʿism). We have found nothing more subtle for our school than to assume love for this man, then to say what we wish, believe what we wish, and affiliate with whomever we wish. For being called Rāfiḍah or Shīʿah is more agreeable to us than being called heretical infidels, and Ali among us is no better off than anyone else with whom we affiliate. Abū Saʿīd—may God have mercy on him—said: “This man spoke truly about himself and did not equivocate. It has become clear from some of their elders and from those with insight that they hide behind Shiʿism, using it to bolster their speeches and sermons, as a foothold and pretext to ensnare the weak and the heedless. They then sow within the body of their sermons the seeds of their disbelief and heresy so that their message may be more effective in the hearts of the ignorant and more persuasive among them.” (1) In the margin of the original: “Topic: Listing the sects of the Rāfiḍah followed by the sects of the Jahmīs.” In the margin of manuscript S: “His categorization of the Shīʿah.” (2) The Ghulāt (Extremists): those who have gone to excess in their veneration of their imams, attributing to them divine prerogatives, permitting what the Sharia prohibits, and nullifying its obligations. Their errors derive from the doctrines of hulūl (incarnation), reincarnation, and from Jewish and Christian teachings—since the Jews likened the Creator to the creation and the Christians likened the creation to the Creator. These analogies took root in the minds of extremist Shīʿah to the extent that they applied divine rulings to certain imams. They comprise various sects united by beliefs in tashbīh (anthropomorphism), badāʾ (divine alteration), rajʿah (return), and reincarnation. See on their doctrines: Maqālāt al-Islāmiyyīn by al-Ashʿarī, vol. 1, pp. 66–88; Al-Firaq bayna al-Firaq by al-Baghdādī, p. 23; al-Milal wa al-Nihal by al-Shahrastānī, vol. 1, pp. 173–189; Iʿtiqādāt Firaq al-Muslimīn wa al-Mushrikīn by al-Rāzī, pp. 86–93. (3) In manuscripts S and T: “they make.” (4) In manuscripts S and T: “other.”