And the infallibility of any one of these can be established only through a report from someone whose infallibility is known; the one whose infallibility is known is the Messenger. Unless a report supporting what they say is established as coming from the Messenger, they have no transmitted proof (1) whatsoever, whether concerning the foundations of religion or its subsidiary matters. The issue then returns to the claim that Ali was explicitly designated as caliph by a text. If you establish that text through consensus, your argument is invalid, since you deny that consensus constitutes authoritative proof. If you establish it only through the particular reports that some of you cite, their invalidity has already been demonstrated in several ways. It has also been shown that the reports transmitted by the majority and most of the Shia, which contradict this claim, establish with certainty that it is a lie.

Anyone who reflects on these matters will see that, in none of the positions distinguishing them from the majority, do the Imāmiyyah rely on any proof whatsoever: neither rational nor transmitted, neither a text nor consensus. Rather, they rely on a claim based on a fabricated report known to be false, a claim that a text supports their position, or an analogy known to provide no such support.

Although they and the other adherents of religious innovation, such as the Khawārij and the Mu'tazilah, upon close examination rely on no sound proof—whether rational or transmitted—and have only specious arguments, the arguments of those other groups are nevertheless stronger than the Rāfidah’s transmitted and rational arguments. As for transmitted evidence, those groups do not deliberately lie as the Rāfidah do, and their seemingly plausible interpretations of authentic texts have a stronger basis than those of the Rāfidah.

Furthermore, the other adherents of religious innovation are more knowledgeable about hadith and transmitted reports than they are. The Rāfidah are the most ignorant of all the groups concerning hadith, transmitted reports, and the circumstances of the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace;