open the door to every enemy of Islam among the polytheists, the People of the Book, and the hypocrites. They are among those furthest removed from the Quran and hadith, as has been explained at length elsewhere.

The point is that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“I am leaving among you two weighty things: the Book of Allah”—and he urged adherence to the Book of Allah—then said: “And my kindred, the members of my household. I remind you of your duty to Allah concerning my household,” repeating this three times.

Thus, he enjoined the Muslims to care for them; he did not appoint them as imams to whom the Muslims were to refer. The Khārijites professed adherence to the Book of Allah, while the Shīʿa professed adherence to the Prophet’s household, yet neither followed what they professed to follow. The Khārijites contradicted the Sunnah, which the Quran commands people to follow, and declared believers disbelievers, although the Quran commands loyalty to them. For this reason, Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqās understood the following verse as applying to them:

“But He misleads thereby none except the defiantly disobedient,”

“who break Allah’s covenant after it has been confirmed, sever what Allah has commanded to be joined, and spread corruption on earth.”

They began pursuing the ambiguous passages of the Quran, interpreting them incorrectly, without understanding their meaning, being firmly grounded in knowledge, following the Sunnah, or consulting the community of Muslims who understand the Quran. As for the ways in which the Shīʿa contradict the Prophet’s household, these are very numerous and have been explained at length elsewhere.