their ears—their prayer reaches no farther. They had been burned by Alī [ibn Abī Tālib—may Allah be pleased with him—in a fire] (1) and banished by him from the land. Among them was Abd Allah ibn Saba, a Jew from among the Jews of Sana'a, whom he exiled to Sābāt (2), and Abū Bakr al-Karawwas, whom he exiled to al-Jābiya (3). He also burned a group of them who came to him and said:
“You are He.”
He asked, “Who am I?”
They replied, “You are our Lord.”
He then ordered a fire to be lit. It was set ablaze, and they were cast into it. It was about them that (4) Alī—may Allah be pleased with him (5)—said:
When I saw the matter become an abomination …
I kindled my fire and summoned Qanbar. (6)
Mālik, their affliction is the same as that of the Jews. The Jews say, “Kingship rightfully belongs only to the House of David.” Likewise, the Rāfida (7) say, “The imamate rightfully belongs only to Alī’s descendants (8).”
The Jews also say, “There is no jihad in the cause of Allah until Allah sends the Antichrist and a sword (9) descends from heaven.” Likewise, the Rāfida say, “There is no jihad in
(1) The words between square brackets are an addition in A and B. L reads: “Alī ibn Abī Tālib with fire.”
(2) *Al-Iqd al-Farīd*, 2/409, reads: “Among them was Abd Allah ibn Saba, whom he banished to Sābāt, and Abd Allah ibn Sabāb, whom he banished to al-Jāzir.” Al-Jāzir is a village in the vicinity of al-Nahrawān, in the administrative district of Baghdad near al-Madāin.
(3) “Abū Bakr al-Karawwas”: thus in A, L, and B, as well as in *al-Iqd al-Farīd*, 2/409, where the name is vocalized. N and M read: “Abū al-Karawwash.” I found no mention of this man in the references available to me. Al-Jābiya is a village in the administrative district of Damascus.
(4) The words “It was about them that he said” are omitted in M.
(5) The words “may Allah be pleased with him” are an addition in A, L, and B.
(6) These *rajaz* lines are found in Ibn Hazm’s *al-Fisal*, 5/47, and Ibn Abī al-Hadīd’s *Commentary on Nahj al-Balāgha*, 8/169 (Isa al-Halabī ed.), with variations in wording.
(7) N and M read: “And the Rāfida said.”
(8) N, M, and L read: “No one is fit to be an imam unless he is descended from Alī.” *Al-Iqd al-Farīd*, 2/409, reads: “Kingship shall belong only to the family of Alī ibn Abī Tālib.”
(9) A and B read: *sayyid* (“a master”).