They were dubbed Rāfiḍites because, when they gathered around Zayd ibn ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn—may Allah be pleased with him—they asked, “What do you say about Abu Bakr and ʿUmar?” He praised them and replied, “They were the two ministers of my grandfather,” meaning the Messenger of Allah. The moment he said that, they turned away from him and abandoned him; hence they came to be called Rāfiḍites (the Rejecters).

In reality, Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamāʿah are the true supporters (shīʿah) of Ali ibn Abi Talib—may Allah be pleased with him—and of every believer from the Prophet’s Household, for every believer is a loyal ally to every other believer. Allah the Exalted says, “The believing men and believing women are allies of one another” (Q 9:71). Thus, the stronger a person’s faith in Allah, the stronger his loyalty to the believers—whether they belong to the Household or to others.

Ali ibn Abi Talib—may Allah be pleased with him—is completely innocent of the false statements attributed to him. Indeed, when a band of extremists came to him proclaiming, “You are Allah”—we seek refuge with Allah—he could not tolerate it. He ordered trenches to be dug, firewood to be piled up, and cast them into the blaze, meting out the severest punishment, because they had deified him. As for those who do not use the word “god” outright, they have