he said about himself, without evasion. It has become clear to me, from some of their leading figures and their peers, that they conceal themselves behind Shiism. They use it as a vehicle for their statements and errors, a stepping-stone and a means of ensnaring the weak and the heedless. Then, amid their errors, they sow the seeds of their unbelief and heresy, making them more effective in the hearts of the ignorant and more influential over them. Although the ignorant may doubt their true nature, those with knowledge are certain about them.”

[Ibn Taymiyyah’s commentary]

I said:

‘Abd al-Rahmān ibn Mahdī and other leading scholars of the Sunnah said: “There are two groups of whom you must beware: the Jahmiyyah and the Rāfidah.”

What ‘Uthmān ibn Sa‘īd related about this man expresses the actual position of the leaders of the Jahmiyyah who profess Shiism, such as the Qarmatian esotericists among the Ismā‘īliyyah, the Nusayriyyah, and others like them. They are the chiefs and leaders of those who deviate from the faith. Much of their irreligion has spread among many of the Shia and the speculative theologians—the Mu‘tazilah, Najjāriyyah, Dirāriyyah, Ash‘ariyyah, and Karrāmiyyah—as well as among those engaged in Sufism, jurisprudence, hadith, and Quranic exegesis, and among the common people.

Most of these people, however, do not hold heretical beliefs; rather, they affirm the prophethood of the Messenger—may Allah bless him