Minhaj as-Sunnah - Ibn Taimiya - (3/489)

—many years, in fact—while the awaited imam has been absent(1) for more than 450 years; according to others, he is nonexistent and never existed. The authorities who are obeyed(2) are shaykhs(3) from among the Rāfidah shaykhs, or books authored by some of their shaykhs, who stated that their contents were transmitted from those infallible imams. Yet these shaykhs who authored them(4) are, by consensus, not infallible, nor is their salvation known with certainty.

The Rāfidah therefore follow only imams whose salvation and felicity they cannot affirm with certainty. Consequently, they can be certain neither(5) of their own salvation nor of the salvation of the imams who deal with them directly by commanding and prohibiting them—and these are, in very truth, their imams. This phrase is omitted from (أ), (ب). Rather, in claiming affiliation with those imams, they are like many(6) of the followers of their shaykhs who claim affiliation with a shaykh who died some time ago, while not knowing(7) what he commanded(8) or what he prohibited. Rather, he has(9) followers who consume their wealth unlawfully and bar them from the path of Allah, (* commanding them to go to excess concerning that shaykh and his successors and to take them as lords, just as the Shi'a shaykhs command

(1) Only (B) reads: “absent” (in the accusative). (2) (A) and (B) read: yutīʿūna (“they obey”); (S) reads: yutāwiʿūna (“they comply”). (3) (W) reads: “their shaykhs.” (4) The text between square brackets is omitted from (N), (M), and (W). (5) “Not” is omitted from (A) and (B). (6) (A) and (B) read: “like the followers of many…” (7) (A) and (B) read: “and they did not know.” (8) (S), (M), and (R) read: “what they were commanded to do.” (9) (A) and (B) read: “they have.”

كَثِيرَةٍ، وَالْمُنْتَظَرُ لَهُ غَائِبٌ (١) . أَكْثَرَ مِنْ أَرْبَعِمِائَةٍ وَخَمْسِينَ سَنَةً، وَعِنْدَ آخَرِينَ هُوَ مَعْدُومٌ لَمْ يُوجَدْ. وَالَّذِينَ يُطَاعُونَ (٢) . شُيُوخٌ (٣) . مِنْ شُيُوخِ الرَّافِضَةِ، أَوْ كُتُبٌ صَنَّفَهَا بَعْضُ شُيُوخِ الرَّافِضَةِ، وَذَكَرُوا أَنَّ مَا فِيهَا مَنْقُولٌ عَنْ أُولَئِكَ الْمَعْصُومِينَ. وَهَؤُلَاءِ الشُّيُوخُ الْمُصَنِّفُونَ (٤) . لَيْسُوا مَعْصُومِينَ بِالِاتِّفَاقِ، وَلَا مَقْطُوعًا لَهُمْ بِالنَّجَاةِ. فَإِذًا الرَّافِضَةُ لَا يَتَّبِعُونَ إِلَّا أَئِمَّةً لَا يَقْطَعُونَ بِنَجَاتِهِمْ وَلَا سَعَادَتِهِمْ، فَلَمْ يَكُونُوا قَاطِعِينَ لَا (٥) . بِنَجَاتِهِمْ، وَلَا بِنَجَاةِ أَئِمَّتِهِمُ الَّذِينَ يُبَاشِرُونَهُمْ بِالْأَمْرِ وَالنَّهْيِ، وَهُمْ أَئِمَّتُهُمْ حَقًّا حَقًّا: سَاقِطَةٌ مِنْ (أ) ، (ب) .، وَإِنَّمَا هُمْ فِي انْتِسَابِهِمْ إِلَى أُولَئِكَ الْأَئِمَّةِ بِمَنْزِلَةِ كَثِيرٍ (٦) مِنْ أَتْبَاعِ شُيُوخِهِمُ الَّذِينَ يَنْتَسِبُونَ إِلَى شَيْخٍ قَدْ مَاتَ مِنْ مُدَّةٍ وَلَا يَدْرُونَ (٧) . بِمَاذَا أَمَرَ (٨) ، وَلَا بِمَاذَا نَهَى، بَلْ لَهُ (٩) أَتْبَاعٌ يَأْكُلُونَ أَمْوَالَهُمْ بِالْبَاطِلِ وَيَصُدُّونَ عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ، (* يَأْمُرُونَهُمْ بِالْغُلُوِّ فِي ذَلِكَ الشَّيْخِ وَفِي خُلَفَائِهِ، وَأَنْ يَتَّخِذُوهُمْ أَرْبَابًا، وَكَمَا تَأْمُرُ شُيُوخُ الشِّيعَةِ

(١) ب فَقَطْ غَائِبًا (٢) أ، ب: يُطِيعُونَ، ص: يُطَاوِعُونَ (٣) و: شُيُوخُهُمْ (٤) مَا بَيْنَ الْمَعْقُوفَتَيْنِ سَاقِطٌ مِنْ (ن) ، (م) ، (و) (٥) لَا: سَاقِطَةٌ مِنْ (أ) ، (ب) (٦) أ، ب: بِمَنْزِلَةِ أَتْبَاعِ كَثِيرٍ. . . (٧) أ، ب: وَلَمْ يَدْرُوا (٨) ص، م، ر: بِمَاذَا أُمِرُوا. (٩) أ، ب: لَهُمْ.