return to it until the arrow returns.” (1)

In the two Sahīh collections, ‘Alī said:

I heard the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, say:

“People will emerge from my nation who recite the Quran. Your recitation will be nothing compared with theirs, your prayer nothing compared with theirs, and your fasting nothing compared with theirs. They recite the Quran, thinking it is in their favour, whereas it is against them. Their prayer does not pass beyond their collarbones (2). They will pass out of Islam as an arrow passes through its target. If the army that encounters them knew what had been decreed for them through the words of their Prophet, they would cease (3) performing deeds. Their distinguishing sign is that among them is a man with an upper arm but no forearm; at the end of his upper arm is something like the nipple of a breast, with a few white hairs on it.” (4)

The fourth point:

The verse certainly does not refer to fighting alongside ‘Alī, for Allah says:

“You will fight them, or they will embrace Islam.” [Surah al-Fath: 16]

Thus, He describes them as necessarily facing one of two alternatives (5): fighting or embracing Islam. It is well known that those against whom ‘Alī called for battle