the Throne] (1), or do they bear the Creator, Mighty and Majestic? They are divided into two groups. One group is known as the Yūnusiyyah, the followers of Yūnus ibn Abd al-Rahmān al-Qummī, a client of the Yaqtīn family (2). They maintain that the bearers carry the Creator. Yūnus argued concerning (3) the bearers’ ability to carry Him, comparing them (4) to the crane (5), whose two slender legs bear its weight.
Another group said: “The bearers carry the Throne, while it is impossible for the Creator (6) to be borne.”
Al-Ash‘arī (7) said: “The Rāfidah differed over affirming that Allah (8) is Knowing and Living (9), All-Powerful, All-Hearing, All-Seeing, and God. They comprise nine (10) groups. The first is the Zurāriyyah, the followers of Zurārah ibn Ayan al-Rāfidī. They maintain that Allah had never been Hearing, Knowing, or Seeing until He created that for Himself. They are also called the Taymiyyah (11), and their leader is Zurārah ibn Ayan.
(1) “Do they bear the Throne?” is omitted from N alone. *Maqālāt al-Islāmiyyīn* reads: “Do they carry the Throne?”
(2) A biographical notice on Yūnus ibn Abd al-Rahmān and a discussion of his sect appeared earlier at 1/73. See also *A‘yān al-Shī‘ah*, 52/101–114; *Rijāl al-Najāshī*, pp. 348–349; *Rijāl al-Tūsī*, pp. 364, 394; and Ibn al-Nadīm, *al-Fihrist*, p. 220. In the margin of A beside this passage is written: “On the doctrines of the Shiite sects.”
(3) A and B read “to.”
(4) A, B, and M read “and she compared them,” which is a corruption.
(5) The *kurkī* (crane; vocalized on the pattern of *kursī*) is a bird with long, slender legs.
(6) N and M read “and indeed the Creator.”
(7) *Maqālāt al-Islāmiyyīn*, 1/106–108. In the margin of M is written: “Take note of the Rāfidah’s disagreement over whether Allah Most High is Living, Powerful, Hearing, and Seeing.”
(8) *Maqālāt al-Islāmiyyīn* reads: “Indeed, Allah—Glorified is He...”
(9) “Knowing and Living” is omitted from M alone.
(10) N and M read “eight,” which is an error.
(11) M reads “al-Shīmah,” which is a corruption.