to someone other than his father. Such a person is the one upon whom the curse falls—may Allah protect us. Sadly, there are, Allah grant refuge, those who do this for worldly gain: they claim descent from their uncles instead of their fathers in pursuit of some material advantage. Today, for instance, you find people who hold two nationalities; he affiliates himself with his paternal or maternal uncle, or the like, so that he may obtain some benefit in this world. This, too, is forbidden and unlawful. Whoever has done so must correct his legal affiliation, his nationality, and his identity documents, and must not leave them as they are. Whoever is mindful of Allah, He will make his affairs easy and provide for him from where he never imagined. Allah is the granter of success.
As for the report from ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (may Allah be pleased with him) that he announced from the pulpit while addressing the people, “We possess nothing with which the Messenger of Allah ﷺ singled us out except the Book of Allah,” this applies to everyone. “The Book of Allah” means the very Qur’an that Muslims, young and old, recite today from beginning to end; no one has added to it, and no one has taken anything from it. This is a rebuttal of the Rāfiḍī Shiʿah who allege that one-third of the Noble Qur’an was removed, that the so-called “Surah al-Wilāyah” was deleted, and similar claims, thereby placing themselves outside the consensus of the Muslims: “Whoever opposes the Messenger after guidance has become clear to him and follows a way other than that of the believers, We will leave him to the path he has chosen and cast him into Hell—an evil destination indeed” (Qur’an 4:115).
Furthermore, the oath sworn by the Commander of the Faithful (may Allah be pleased with him)—the fourth caliph, the upright and truthful—that the Prophet ﷺ left them no special privilege, even without an oath, is conclusive proof of the falsehood of the Rāfiḍī Shiʿah who claim that the Prophet ﷺ entrusted the caliphate to ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib and that Abū Bakr and ʿUmar were oppressors, aggressors, unbelievers, and hypocrites. Such are their assertions.