their ordinary followers, who do not know the hidden reality of their movement, may be (1) Muslims.
As for the foregoing doctrines, certain groups other than the Imāmiyya shared their views on them—except for (2) their excess concerning the infallibility of the prophets, in which no one else agreed with them either. They asserted that the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—does not forget, and, to my knowledge, no one agrees with them on this (3), unless perhaps it be some extremist among the ignorant ascetics. They and the Rāfida share a measure of extremism, ignorance, and submission to claims whose soundness is unknown. Both groups resemble the Christians in this respect. [Some authors of works on jurisprudence (5), among those who go to excess concerning infallibility, may (4) come close to them] (6).
The discussion concerns whether these men are imams whom Allah has made it obligatory to believe in (7) and from whom, to the exclusion of all others, religion must be received; [then] (8), whether they are infallible from error. Each of these two (9) assertions is one (10) made only by someone steeped in ignorance, utterly given to following his whims, or both (11). Thus, whoever knows the religion of Islam and knows the condition of these people knows