[He was] (1) Hishām ibn al-Hakam (* Rather, al-Jāhiz said in his book al-Hujaj fī al-Nubuwwah (The Proofs of Prophethood) (2): “There is not a single Rāfidī on the face of the earth who does not claim that his Lord is like him, that new determinations arise for Him, and that He does not know a thing before it comes into being except through knowledge that He creates for Himself.” *) (3). Indeed, (4) Ibn al-Rāwandī and others like him who were known for heresy [and unbelief] (5) also composed (6) books for them founded upon their principles.
[Section: Introduction to Ibn al-Mutahhar’s Book]
[The Imamate Is the Most Important Matter among the Rulings of Religion and the Noblest Question for Muslims]
(Section)
The [Rāfidī] (7) author said:
“To proceed (8): This is a noble treatise and an elegant discourse, encompassing—
(1) The word “he” is added in A and B.
(2) N reads: *bi-Sahīh al-Nubuwwah* (“On the Authenticity of Prophethood”); M reads: *Tashīh al-Nubuwwah* (“Vindicating Prophethood”). I hope that the reading adopted in the text is correct. Yāqūt mentions the work in *Mujam al-Udabā* (*Biographical Dictionary of Literary Men*), 6/77, and also attributes to him (6) the book *al-Nabī wa al-Mutanabbi* (*The Prophet and the Pretender to Prophethood*). An extract from *Hujaj al-Nubuwwah* (*The Proofs of Prophethood*) was published in *Rasāil al-Jāhiz* (*The Epistles of al-Jāhiz*), collected and edited by Hasan al-Sandūbī, pp. [0–9]17–154, Cairo, 1352 AH/1933 CE. Brockelmann mentions the work under the title *Hujjat al-Nubuwwah* (*The Proof of Prophethood*), or *Hujaj al-Nubuwwah* (*The Proofs of Prophethood*), and states that a manuscript copy is held at the British Museum in London and that the work has been published several times. See Brockelmann, *Tārīkh al-Adab al-Arabī* (*History of Arabic Literature*), translated by Dr. Abd al-Halīm al-Najjār, 3/112, al-Maārif edition, Cairo, 1962.
(3) The passage between the asterisks is omitted from A and B.
(4) N and M read: “and Ibn al-Rāwandī...”
(5) The words “and unbelief” are added in A and B.
(6) N and M read: “composed” (singular).
(7) The word “Rāfidī” is omitted from N and M.
(8) The words “To proceed” are omitted from M.