Minhaj as-Sunnah - Ibn Taimiya - (3/371)

Minhaj as-SunnahIbn Taimiya

They say: Allah Most High speaks with sound, but none of them said that this particular sound is eternal.

[Chapter: The Rāfidī’s claim that Ahl al-Sunnah deny the infallibility of the prophets; his discussion of their position on the imamate; and the response to him]

Chapter (1)

The Rāfidī (2) said: “Everyone apart from (3) the Imāmīs and Ismāʿīlīs holds that the prophets and imams (4) are not infallible. They thus allowed that someone liable to lie, forget, err, and steal could be sent as a prophet. What confidence, then, can ordinary people retain in their words (5)? And how (6) could obedience to them (7) be secured? How could following them be obligatory when it is possible that what they command is wrong?

“They did not restrict the imams to a fixed number. Rather, in their view, as soon as anyone pledges allegiance (8) to a Qurashī, the latter’s imamate is established, and obedience to him becomes obligatory (9) for all creation if his true state is unknown—even if he were (10) at the utmost extreme of disbelief, wickedness, and hypocrisy (11).”

(1) Manuscript (W)—the United States manuscript—begins with the word “Chapter.” (2) The following passage appears in (K), p. 93 (M). (3) (B) reads: “the totality of all except,” which is a corruption. (4) (K) reads: “and the imams—peace be upon them.” (5) (K) reads: *fī aqāwīlihim* (“in their sayings”). (6) (K) reads: “Then how?” (7) (A) and (B) read: *lahum* (“to them”). (8) (N), (M), (W), and (A) read: “Rather, everyone who followed”; (K) reads: “Rather, they said: Everyone who pledged allegiance.” The reading adopted in the text is from (B). (9) (N), (W), (A), and (B) read: *wa-wajabat* (“and it became obligatory”). (10) The words “even if” occur only in (B) and (K) and are absent from all the other manuscripts. (11) (N) and (M) read: “of wickedness, disbelief, and hypocrisy”; (W) reads: “of sinfulness, disbelief, and hypocrisy.”

يَقُولُونَ: إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى يَتَكَلَّمُ بِصَوْتٍ، لَكِنْ لَمْ يَقُلْ أَحَدٌ مِنْهُمْ: إِنَّ ذَلِكَ الصَّوْتَ الْمُعَيَّنَ قَدِيمٌ [فصل زعم الرافضي بأن أهل السنة ينكرون عصمة الأنبياء وكلامه على مقالتهم في الإمامة والرد عليه] فَصْلٌ (١) قَالَ الرَّافِضِيُّ (٢) : وَذَهَبَ جَمِيعُ مَنْ عَدَا (٣) الْإِمَامِيَّةِ وَالْإِسْمَاعِيلِيَّةِ إِلَى أَنَّ الْأَنْبِيَاءَ وَالْأَئِمَّةَ (٤) غَيْرُ مَعْصُومِينَ، فَجَوَّزُوا بَعْثَةَ مَنْ يَجُوزُ عَلَيْهِ الْكَذِبُ وَالسَّهْوُ وَالْخَطَأُ وَالسَّرِقَةُ، فَأَيُّ وُثُوقٍ يَبْقَى لِلْعَامَّةِ فِي أَقْوَالِهِمْ (٥) ، وَكَيْفَ (٦) يَحْصُلُ الِانْقِيَادُ إِلَيْهِمْ (٧) ، وَكَيْفَ يَجِبُ اتِّبَاعُهُمْ مَعَ تَجْوِيزِ أَنْ يَكُونَ مَا يَأْمُرُونَ بِهِ خَطَأً؟ وَلَمْ يَجْعَلُوا الْأَئِمَّةَ مَحْصُورِينَ فِي عَدَدٍ مُعَيَّنٍ بَلْ كُلُّ مَنْ بَايَعَ (٨) قُرَشِيًّا انْعَقَدَتْ إِمَامَتُهُ عِنْدَهُمْ، وَوَجَبَ (٩) طَاعَتُهُ عَلَى جَمِيعِ الْخَلْقِ إِذَا كَانَ مَسْتُورَ الْحَالِ، وَإِنْ كَانَ (١٠) عَلَى غَايَةٍ مِنَ الْكُفْرِ وَالْفُسُوقِ وَالنِّفَاقِ (١١) .

(١) عِنْدَ كَلِمَةِ فَصْلٌ تَبْدَأُ نُسْخَةُ (وَ) = نُسْخَةُ الْوِلَايَاتِ الْمُتَّحِدَةِ الْأَمْرِيكِيَّةِ. (٢) الْكَلَامُ التَّالِي فِي (ك) ص ٩٣ (م) . (٣) ب: جَمْعُ مَا عَدَا، وَهُوَ تَحْرِيفٌ. (٤) ك: وَالْأَئِمَّةَ عَلَيْهِمُ السَّلَامُ. (٥) ك: فِي أَقَاوِيلِهِمْ. (٦) ك: فَكَيْفَ. (٧) أ، ب: لَهُمْ. (٨) أ، ن، م، وَ: بَلْ كُلُّ مِنْ تَابَعَ، ك: بَلْ قَالُوا: كُلُّ مَنْ بَايَعَ، وَالْمُثْبَتُ مِنْ (ب) . (٩) ن، وَ، أ، ب: وَوَجَبَتْ. (١٠) وَإِنْ كَانَ فِي (ب) ، (ك) فَقَطْ، وَسَقَطَتْ مِنْ سَائِرِ النُّسَخِ. (١١) ن، م: مِنَ الْفُسُوقِ وَالْكُفْرِ وَالنِّفَاقِ. وَ: مِنَ الْفِسْقِ وَالْكُفْرِ وَالنِّفَاقِ