those who were better than these fight them, when [Alī] was then in the right (1) and his enemy was in the wrong, while those loyal to him at that time were more numerous and mighty and possessed greater knowledge and faith, whereas his enemy at that time—if indeed he was an enemy—was more abject and powerless, weaker in knowledge and faith, and less aggressive? For if the truth were as the Rāfidah falsely allege, Abū Bakr, Umar, and the earliest forerunners would have been among the worst people on earth and the greatest of them in ignorance and injustice. Immediately after the death of their Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—they deliberately made substitutions and changes, wronged the designated successor, and did with the prophethood of Muhammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—what the Jews and Christians did not do after the deaths of Moses and the Messiah (2)—peace and blessings be upon them both. For after the deaths of their prophets, the Jews and Christians did not do what the Rāfidah say these men did immediately after the death of the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace. According to their claim, this community would be the worst community ever brought forth for mankind, and its earliest forerunners would be its worst members.

The falsity of all this is necessarily known from the religion of Islam. It also demonstrates that the one who originated the doctrine of the Rāfidah was a godless heretic and an enemy of the religion of Islam (3) and its adherents. He was not one of those innovators whose errors arose from misinterpretation, such as the Khawārij and the Qadariyyah, even though the doctrine of the Rāfidah later gained currency among some people who possessed faith because of their profound ignorance.

Another indication of this is to ask: What motive could those people have had to support Āishah, the daughter of Abū Bakr, and fight Alī alongside her, as they recount (4), yet not support Fātimah, the daughter of the Messenger of