the unseen](1), and other such persons whose existence is unknown(2), as are what they command and what they forbid(3). How, then, can anyone who agrees with these people be permitted to object to what we claim?”
The answer is as follows:
It may be given in several ways.
First: No Muslim scholar or recognized Muslim group considers belief in the existence of these persons obligatory. If some extremists require their followers to believe in their existence and say, “No one can be a believer and an ally of Allah unless he believes that these persons exist in the present age,” their position is to be rejected, just like that of the Rāfidis.
(* Likewise, if any of these extremists says, “No one can be an ally of Allah unless he believes in(4) al-Khidr and the like,” his position is to be rejected, just like that of the Rāfidis. *)(5)
The second response is to say: Some people think that believing in these persons increases a person in