Saīd, al-Thawrī, al-Shāfiī, Ahmad, and others like them did not deliberately lie about the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—nor, indeed, about anyone else. How much more, then, is this true of Ibn Umar, Ibn Abbās, Abū Saīd, and others?
The eleventh point: Suppose that “the infallible person” were intended. We do not concede that there is consensus that infallibility is absent from everyone apart from (1) Alī, as explained above. Many people who are better than the Rāfidah make this same claim for their shaykhs, even if they phrase it differently. Moreover, we do not concede that their infallibility can be denied while his is affirmed. Rather, infallibility must either be denied of all of them or affirmed of all of them.
[Section: The Thirty-Sixth Proof—“Bow with Those Who Bow”—and the Response to It]
Section
The Rāfidī said (2):
“The thirty-sixth proof is the statement of Allah Most High:
‘Bow with those who bow.’
[Surah al-Baqarah: 43]
A report transmitted by Abū Nuaym relates from Ibn Abbās—may Allah be pleased with them both (3)—that ‘this verse was revealed specifically concerning the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—and Alī’ (4). They were the first two to pray and bow. This (5) proves his virtue (6), and therefore proves his imamate.”