of a tyrant, the slip of a scholar, and the whim of a leader with followers.”95 These are examples of the reports they have related that contain the most substantial argument against those among them who have accepted the authority of their predecessors.
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فأمّا الثابت من الرواية الصحيحة أنّه قال النبيّ صلّى الله عليه وعلى آله تركت فيكم أمرين١ ما إن تمسّكتم بهما لن تضلّوا من بعدي كتاب الله وعترتي أهل بيتي وإنّهما لن يفترقا حتّى يردا على الحوض كهاتين، وجمع بين المسبّحتين من يديه جميعًا وساوى بينهما وقال ولا أقول كهاتين. وجمع بين المسبّحة والوسطى من يده اليمنى إحداهما تسبق الأخرى. وهما الثقلان فلن تزالوا بخير ما تمسّكتم بهما. ورووا عن رسول الله صلّى الله عليه وعلى آله أنّه قال بئس مطيّة الرجل زعم. في أخبار كثيرة . وفيما ذكرناه منها مع نصّ الكتاب بلاغ لذوي الألباب.
١ ز: الثقلين.
It is established as soundly transmitted that the Prophet stated, “I have left among you two things which, as long as you hold fast to them, you will not go astray after me: the Book of God and my progeny, the People of my House. They will not separate until they come to the Heavenly Pool, like these two”—and he held the index fingers of his two hands together, even with each other. He continued, “I do not say like these two”—and he held the index finger and middle finger from his right hand together, with one sticking out farther than the other. “These are the two weighty matters. You will remain in a good state as long as you hold fast to them.” They have related from the Messenger of God that he said, “What an unsturdy mount for man is mere assertion!” along with many other similar reports. Perspicacious readers will find a sufficient communication of the point in those reports that we have cited, together with the unequivocal text of the Book.
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وقد ذكرنا فيما تقدّم قولهم١ في تقليد الصحابة وترك الخروج عن قولهم إلى غيره وإنكار بعضهم تقليدهم عليهم ممّا يتعاظمه عامّتهم ويرونه كالخروج عن٢ الملّة عندهم جهلًا منهم حتّى أنّ بعض من يأبى من التقليد منهم لم يصرّح بالردّ في إنكار تقليدهم عليهم إلّا بإشارات وكنايات ولو عقلوا لكان في تقليدهم من لم يأمر الله عزّ وجلّ بتقليده أعظم النكير عليهم ولكنّهم همج ما سبق٣ إليهم وعظم في صدورهم قام مقام الحقّ عندهم .
١ ز: أقوالهم. ٢ خ: عن، وفي ز، ل: من. ٣ ز: سيق.
We have mentioned above the Sunnis’ doctrine concerning submission to the authority of the Companions and avoidance of abandoning their opinions in favor of others, and the fact that a certain Sunni denounced them for their adoption of the Companions as authorities, which the common people among them, out of their ignorance, consider a tremendous matter and see as tantamount to leaving the Muslim nation, as they conceive of it. This is true to such an extent that one of them who rejected submission to such illegitimate authorities did not explicitly state his refutation and denunciation of their adoption of their predecessors as authorities, but did so only by means of allusion and indirect references. If his statements were but understood, they would constitute the gravest denunciation of them in their submission to authorities whom God did not command to be followed. They, however, are an ignorant rabble: what they first became accustomed to has grown great in their hearts and has taken the place of the truth with them.
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وأكثر ما احتجّوا في تقليدهم بحديث رووه بزعمهم عن رسول الله صلّى الله عليه وعلى آله قال أصحابي كالنجوم بأيّهم اقتديتم اهتديتم. فزعموا أنّ كلّ من صحب رسول الله يقتدى به في كلّ ما يقوله١ ويفعله ويأمر به وينهى عنه. وأوجبوا بذلك تقليد جميعهم والأخذ عنهم ما أتوا به ممّا ليس في كتاب الله عزّ وجلّ بزعمهم ولا في سنّة نبيّهم . وقد أصبنا هؤلاء الذين زعموا أنّهم أصحاب رسول الله قد تفرّقوا واختلفوا من بعده وتحاجزوا واقتتلوا وقتل بعضهم بعضـًا. والحديث الذي احتجّوا به يمنع نصّه من ذلك فيما بينهم ويبيح قتلهم لغيرهم ويهدر دماءهم لهم ويتفاحش إن حُملت عليه أحكامهم.
١ ل: يقول له.
The strongest proof they have cited for their submission to the authority of the Companions is an oral report which they claim to have transmitted from the Messenger of God, in which he said, “My Companions are like the stars. No matter which of them you follow, you will be led aright.”96 They claimed that everyone who accompanied the Messenger of God should be emulated in everything which he said and did, commanded and forbade. Thus, they made it obligatory to follow all the Companions and to adopt the positions they espoused regarding what they claim is not addressed in the Book of God or in the Practice of their Prophet. Yet we have found that those who they claimed were the Companions of the Messenger of God devolved into factions and differed among themselves after his demise, disputing, fighting, and even killing each other. The text of the Prophetic report that they cited as proof expressly denies that they would do this to each other, and yet declares it permissible to them to kill others and spill their blood. It would be an enormity if Islamic legal rulings were based on the logical implications of this report.
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فأمّا ما يمنع من ذلك١ اختلافهم مع ما ذكرناه من ذمّ الله عزّ وجلّ الاختلاف وأهله ممّا أثبتناه فيما قدّمنا ذكره فإنّه لم يكن ينبغي لمن فعل فعلًا منهم أن يخالفه فيه غيره منهم ولا من غيرهم إذ كان رسول الله صلّى الله عليه وعلى آله قد أمر بالاقتداء٢ به
