for a matter that has not been transmitted with tawātur among those outside their circle does not oblige anyone else to accept it. Likewise, their so-called “consensus of the rightly guided faction” has no validity until it is first proven that they themselves are that rightly guided faction, and this in turn depends on establishing the presence of an infallible Imam. They even make it one of the fundamentals of the religion—without which a person is not deemed a believer—to acknowledge the awaited, infallible Imam.
To this, the majority of their later scholars who sided with the Muʿtazilah have added two further doctrines—tawḥīd and ʿadl—both innovations of the Muʿtazilah (1).
These, then, are three innovated principles. The fourth fundamental is to acknowledge the prophethood of Muhammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and on this point they agree with the Muslims.
The aim here is to show that this line of argument mirrors that of the Rāfiḍah, for they contend that Allah is obliged to appoint, at all times, an infallible Imam because such an appointment constitutes luṭf (a gracious facilitation) in regard to moral responsibility, and they hold that luṭf is incumbent upon Allah. They attempt to prove this claim by a set of rational syllogisms that they themselves advance (2).
(1) The foundational principles of the Mu’tazila upon which they build their erroneous doctrine are five, among them tawḥīd (monotheism) and ʿadl (justice).
(2) The Rafida (Imami Twelvers) hold that lutf (divine gentleness) is obligatory upon God. They define lutf as that which draws the servant toward obedience and keeps him away from sin, without resulting in compulsion. For them, lutf comprises the appointment of the imam, his support, and his empowerment. This belief is presented by Dahlawi in Mukhtaṣar al-Tuhfa al-IthnāʾAshariyya and refuted with proofs from the Book (the Qur’an) and rational arguments (pp. 87–88, 116–17). See also ʿAqāʾid al-Imāmiya al-IthnāʾAshariyya by Zanjānī, vol. 1, p. 74.
As for the Mu’tazila’s conception of lutf, Qāḍī ʿAbd al-Jabbār describes it in al-Mughni, vol. 13, p. 9: “Know that by this our shuyūkh—may God have mercy on them—mean what invites to the act of obedience in such a way that it occurs by choice or is most fitting to occur; in both respects the event is termed lutf, and both refer to a single meaning, namely that which calls to the act, though the manner of inducements differs….” They also established the obligation of lutf upon God through syllogisms elaborated at length in the same volume, where Qāḍī ʿAbd al-Jabbār devotes an entire section to its discussion.