And the second is that whoever contradicts the Quran becomes a disbeliever, even if he does so in error, or sins while acknowledging what is obligatory and what is forbidden.

At the opposite extreme, the Shī‘a went to excess regarding their imams, declaring them infallible and all-knowing. They made it obligatory to refer to them concerning everything the messengers brought. Thus, they heed neither the Quran nor the Sunnah, but rather the statements of those they suppose to be infallible. This ultimately led them to follow a nonexistent imam who has no reality. They were therefore further astray than the Khārijites: the latter refer to the Quran, which is true, even though they misunderstand it, whereas the former refer to nothing at all—only to someone nonexistent, with no reality. Moreover, they cling only to what is transmitted to them from certain deceased people, relying on an unverified report from someone who is not infallible. For this reason, they were the most mendacious of the sects. The Khārijites, by contrast, are truthful: their narrations are among the soundest, whereas those of the Shī‘a are among the most false.

Yet the principle the Khārijites exalt in their religion is separation from the Muslim community and deeming it lawful to shed Muslims’ blood and seize their wealth. The Shī‘a favor this too, but lack the power to carry it out. The Zaydiyya do so, while the Imāmiyya sometimes do so and sometimes say, “We do not kill except under the banner of an infallible imam.”

The Shī‘a have drawn into their following enemies of the religion, including heretics, the Bātiniyya, and others. For this reason, the heretics—such as the Qarmatians of Bahrain, who were among the most unbelieving of all creation, and the Qarmatians of the Maghreb and Egypt, who concealed themselves behind Shiism—advised infiltrating the Muslims through the gateway of Shiism, for they