Kaysān. It is also said that he was a client of Alī ibn Abī Tālib—may Allah be pleased with him—(1).
Some of the Kaysāniyya claim that Alī explicitly designated Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya as imam(2), because he handed him the standard(3) at Basra. Others say that it was instead al-Husayn who explicitly designated Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya as imam(4).
Still others say that Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya is alive in the Radwā Mountains, with a lion(5) on his right and a panther on his left guarding him. His provision comes to him morning and evening until the time of his emergence. They claimed that he patiently remains in this(6) condition, hidden from humankind, because Allah has a plan concerning him(7) known to none but Him.
They said that Kuthayyir the poet was among the proponents of this doctrine(8). Concerning it, he said:
Behold, the imams are of Quraysh …
The guardians of truth(9) are four, all alike.
(1) “May Allah be pleased with him” is omitted from (N), (M), and (W). *Al-Maqālāt* reads: “May Allah’s pleasure rest upon him.”
(2) *Al-Maqālāt*, 1:90, reads: “The first sect of the Kaysāniyya, which is the second sect of the Rāfida, claim that Alī ibn Abī Tālib explicitly designated his son Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya as imam.”
(3) (A) and (B) read: “He raised the standard to him,” which is a corruption.
(4) *Al-Maqālāt* reads: “The third sect of the Rāfida, which is the second sect of the Kaysāniyya, claim that Alī ibn Abī Tālib explicitly designated his son al-Hasan ibn Alī as imam; that al-Hasan ibn Alī explicitly designated his brother al-Husayn ibn Alī as imam; and that al-Husayn ibn Alī explicitly designated his brother Muhammad ibn Alī—namely, Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya—as imam.”
(5) *Al-Maqālāt* reads: “The fourth sect of the Rāfida, which is the third sect of the Kaysāniyya, is the Karibiyya, the followers of Abū Karib the Blind. They claim that Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya is alive in the Radwā Mountains, with a lion.”
(6) (A) and (B) read: “this.”
(7) (A) and (B) read: “that Allah—Mighty and Majestic—has a plan concerning him.”
(8) *Al-Maqālāt* reads: “Among those who espoused this view.”
(9) (N) reads: “creation,” which is a corruption.