Eighth:

His words,

“And every people has a guide,”

contain an indefinite noun in an affirmative context, which does not denote any specific individual. The claim that the Quran points to Alī is therefore false. Nor does citing the hadith amount to citing the Quran; moreover, the hadith itself is false.

Ninth:

The words “every people” express universality. Had a single guide for everyone been intended, it would have been said:

“There is a guide for all people.” (1)

It would not have been said, “For every people,” because one people [is distinct from another] (2). He did not say, “for all the people”—nor is that said. Rather, He combined “every” with an indefinite noun, not a definite one.

This is like saying:

“Everyone knows that there are many distinct peoples here (3), and that every people has a guide who is not the guide of the others.”

This refutes the view of those who say [that] (4) the guide is Allah Most High; and its refutation of the view of those who say, “It is Alī,” is even clearer.

[Section: The Fourteenth Proof—“And stop them; indeed, they are to be questioned”—and the Response to It]

Section

The Rāfidī (5) said: “The fourteenth proof is the words of Allah Most High:

‘And stop them; indeed, they are to be questioned.’

[Surah al-Sāffāt: 24]

It is transmitted by way of Abū Nuʿaym (6), from al-Shaʿbī, from Ibn Abbās, who said concerning the words of Allah Most High, ‘And stop them; indeed, they are to be questioned’: ‘They will be questioned about Alī’s authority.’ The same is related in the book al-Firdaws, from Abū