the term that, in the usage of the one who employed it, was intended [to denote] (1) the common masses—the rabble—just as the Rāfida call the doctrine of Ahl al-Sunnah “the doctrine of the majority.”

If by the Hashwiyya he means a particular group among the followers of the four imams to the exclusion of all others—such as the followers of [Ahmad], al-Shāfiʿī, or Mālik (2)—then it is well known that these doctrines are entirely absent among them. Indeed, they declare anyone who espouses them an unbeliever. Even if some of these doctrines were hypothetically found among some of them, they would not be peculiar to them; rather, comparable (3) notions are found among all the other groups as well.

If by the Hashwiyya he means the Ahl al-Hadith without qualification, regardless of whether they follow one imam or another, then the creed of the Ahl al-Hadith is the unalloyed Sunnah, for it is the creed reliably established from the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Nothing of this kind forms part of the creed of any member of the Ahl al-Hadith, and the books bear witness to that.

If by the Hashwiyya he means all of Ahl al-Sunnah wa-l-Jamāʿa without qualification, then these views are not known among Muslims at large or among Ahl al-Sunnah. Most Muslims do not imagine that anyone has ever said such a thing (4). Even if some ignorant common people say this—or something still worse—it is not permissible to make this the creed of Ahl al-Sunnah