Minhaj as-Sunnah - Ibn Taimiya - (1/546)

Minhaj as-SunnahIbn Taimiya

the disbelievers, and territories were conquered under their leadership. During Ali’s caliphate, however, no disbelievers were fought (1), nor was any territory conquered; rather, the sword was wielded among Muslims.

As for the explicit designation claimed by the Rāfidah, it is like the designation of al-Abbas claimed by the Rāwandiyyah (2). Scholars necessarily know both claims to be false. If there were no basis for establishing Ali’s caliphate other than this, his imamate would never have been established, just as the imamate of al-Abbas was not established by a comparable claim.

[Commentary on the views concerning the imamate after Ali that Ibn al-Mutahhar attributed to Ahl al-Sunnah]

As for his statement:

“Then they differed. Some said that the imam after him was Hasan, while others said that it was Muawiyah (3).”

The response is: Ahl al-Sunnah did not disagree over this. Rather, they know that the people of Iraq pledged allegiance to Hasan in succession to his father, while the people of Syria had already sided with Muawiyah before that.

And as for his statement:

“They then continued the imamate through the Umayyads and thereafter through the Abbasids (4).”

(1) A and B read: “a disbeliever.” (2) See also the discussion of the Rāwandiyyah and their explicit designation of al-Abbās: *Usūl al-Dīn*, p. 281. (3) See above, p. 127. (4) The full text of Ibn al-Mutahhar’s statement, as cited earlier on p. 127, reads: “They then continued the imamate through the Umayyads until al-Saffāh of the Abbasids emerged, whereupon they transferred the imamate to him. The imamate then passed to his brother al-Mansūr, and they continued it through the Abbasids down to al-Mustasim.”

الْكُفَّارُ، وَفُتِحَتْ بِهِمُ الْأَمْصَارُ. وَخِلَافَةُ عَلِيٍّ لَمْ يُقَاتَلْ فِيهَا كُفَّارٌ (١) ، وَلَا فُتِحَ مِصْرٌ، وَإِنَّمَا كَانَ السَّيْفُ بَيْنَ أَهْلِ الْقِبْلَةِ. وَأَمَّا النَّصُّ الَّذِي تَدَّعِيهِ الرَّافِضَةُ، فَهُوَ كَالنَّصِّ الَّذِي تَدَّعِيهِ الرَّاوَنْدِيَّةُ عَلَى الْعَبَّاسِ (٢) ، وَكِلَاهُمَا مَعْلُومُ الْفَسَادِ بِالضَّرُورَةِ عِنْدَ أَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ، وَلَوْ لَمْ يَكُنْ فِي إِثْبَاتِ خِلَافَةِ عَلِيٍّ إِلَّا هَذَا لَمْ تَثْبُتْ لَهُ إِمَامَةٌ قَطُّ، كَمَا لَمْ تَثْبُتْ لِلْعَبَّاسِ إِمَامَةٌ بِنَظِيرِهِ. [التعليق على ما نسبه ابن المطهر إلى أهل السنة من أقوال عن الإمامة بعد علي] وَأَمَّا قَوْلُهُ: " ثُمَّ اخْتَلَفُوا، فَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ: إِنَّ الْإِمَامَ بَعْدَهُ الْحَسَنُ، وَبَعْضُهُمْ قَالَ: إِنَّهُ مُعَاوِيَةُ (٣) " . فَيُقَالُ: . أَهْلُ السُّنَّةِ لَمْ يَتَنَازَعُوا فِي هَذَا، بَلْ هُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّ الْحَسَنَ بَايَعَهُ أَهْلُ الْعِرَاقِ مَكَانَ أَبِيهِ، وَأَهْلُ الشَّامِ كَانُوا مَعَ مُعَاوِيَةَ قَبْلَ ذَلِكَ. وَقَوْلُهُ: " ثُمَّ سَاقُوا الْإِمَامَةَ فِي بَنِي أُمَيَّةَ ثُمَّ فِي بَنِي الْعَبَّاسِ (٤) " .

(١) أ، ب: كَافِرٌ. (٢) انْظُرْ أَيْضًا عَنِ الرَّاوَنْدِيَّةِ وَنَصِّهِمْ عَلَى الْعَبَّاسِ: أُصُولَ الدِّينِ، ص ٢٨١. (٣) انْظُرْ مَا سَبَقَ، ص ١٢٧. (٤) نَصُّ كَلَامِ ابْنِ الْمُطَهِّرِ، كَمَا وَرَدَ مِنْ قَبْلُ ص ١٢٧: " ثُمَّ سَاقُوا الْإِمَامَةَ فِي بَنِي أُمَيَّةَ إِلَى أَنْ ظَهَرَ السَّفَّاحُ مِنْ بَنِي الْعَبَّاسِ، فَسَاقُوا الْإِمَامَةَ إِلَيْهِ، ثُمَّ انْتَقَلَتِ الْإِمَامَةُ إِلَى أَخِيهِ الْمَنْصُورِ، ثُمَّ سَاقُوا الْإِمَامَةَ فِي بَنِي الْعَبَّاسِ إِلَى الْمُسْتَعْصِمِ.