2015年11月9日月曜日

"Who is the Real ‘Takfiri’?; Sunnite Muslim in Shiite View"


 

 

"Who is the Real ‘Takfiri’?; Sunnite Muslim in Shiite View"

 

Prof. Dr. Hassan Ko Nakata

Doshisha University

 

Abstract

 

At the 27th International Islamic Unity Conference in January 2014, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned about the danger of takfiri groups. ‘Takfiri’ means the ‘judgement for the atheism (ilhad)’. Technically this term is applied to a person who used to be considered Muslim by himself and other Muslim. Referring ‘takfiri’ to its literal sense might lead to an undesirable schism among Muslims.

To a considerable degree, Khamenei seems to refer to Salafi-Jihadi groups when using the word ‘takfir groups’. The one question this paper aims to address is, ’who is the real takfiri?’ In contrast to the tenets in Christianity, there is no particular word equals to ‘heretic’ in Sunnite Islam despite the fact that there is one in Shiite Islam i.emukhalif’. ‘Mukhalif’ means ‘rebellious’ and denotes all the non-Shiite sects. Muhammad Baqir Majlisi(d.1698), a Twelver Shiite great scholar, affirms that it is commonly acceptable that mukhalif is a kafir who is destined for the eternal punishment in the hellfire for imamah is an indispensable pillar of a Muslim faith. It is for this reason that the current Shiite view of mukhalif is almost identical to the Christian’s notion of ‘heretic’. Therefore one could duly call the Twelver Shiites takfiris point of view excommunicates all the non-Shia Muslims; mukhalifs, heretics, as kafirs.

Traditionally, the Twelver Shiites have developed a mechanism of co-existence with the Sunnites by treating the mukhalif as Muslims in terms of ‘dunya’, (this world) and ‘zahiran’ (outwardly) by common social conduct such as allowing marriage with a mukhalif and consuming meet slaughtered by a mukhalif. Beyond this observable behavior, the Twelver Shiite would at the same time judge them as kafirs in terms of ‘akhirah’ (hereafter) and ‘batinan’ (inwardly) as long as the two condition remains; Imam Mahdi has not come yet and the Shiites are the oppressed minorities.

However, after the establishment of Islamic Republic of Iran, Grand Ayatullah Makarem Shirazi, one of the official ideologues of the regime, equates the rule of the Imam Mahdi with the rule of Islamic government (of Iran) and claims that rebellion against the Islamic government should be subjugated harshly by jihad as this could mean rebellion against the Imam Mahdi.

Concludingly, this paper suggests that the real takfiri group of Islam is the Twelver Shiites. Furthermore, it also suggests that is important to be aware on the fact that real takfiri has become dangersome since the establishment of Islamic republic of Iran which they consider the substitute of Imam Mahdi’s rule, because they come to treat the Sunnites as kafirs openly within the dominion of Islamic republic of Iran. Finally, this paper would take a stand to believe that the only way of restoring a stable relation of coexistence between the Sunnite and the Shiite is a containment of the Shiite by the political unity of the Sunnite.

 

1.      Introduction

This paper seeks the mode of coexistence of the Sunnites and the Shiites in the era of wilayah al-faqihauthority of Islamic jurist. In terms of the creed, reconciliation of the two is impossible for authoritative scholars of both parties proclaim each other as kfir. Therefore the only way is de facto coexistence by the containment of the Shiites by the overwhelming majority of the Sunnites. However, the containment cannot be realized without making the Sunnite political solidarity stronger than their counterparts under the wilayah al-faqih regime.

 

2.      The Background of the Problem and Current Situation of the Shiites

In 1979, the late Grand Ayatullah Khomeini succeeded in establishing Islamic Republic by revolution under the banner of Islam and anti-imperialism. Iranian government of wilayah al-faqih regime has fought against the imperialism, targeting the superpower U.S. and the monarchy of Saudi Arabia. In July 20015, Iran won this diplomatic war and has returned to the international community with Vienna Agreement of the nuclear deal.

The Shiites under the leadership of the Islamic Republic of Iran has expanded their influence all over the world since its establishment, especially in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. Iran also gains fame among Muslims for proving that Muslim countries can do more than simply survive, but also be independent from and take a stand against world’s superpowers such as the U.S. In Lebanon, Shiite Hizbullah established itself as a “state within a state” and has a military force that can repulse Israeli invasion. In Iraq, the Shiites has established their government under the guidance of Iranian Grand Ayatullah Sistani without including the Sunnites in the power. In Syria, the Nusairites has succeeded to camouflage as a sect of the Twelver Shiite by endorsement of the late Qom learned Lebanese Ayatullah Musa Sadr in 1974. The Nusairite Asad government has increasingly become dependent on Iran since the beginning of civil war in Syria in 2011 to an extent that Iranian Revolutionary Guards have become interfered in it openly. As for Yemen, Ansar Allah known as the Houthi insurgents who are Zaydi Shiites influenced by Iran Islamic revolution captured Sanaa, the capital of Yemen on January 2015.

In brief, the Shiites united themselves within wilayah al-faqih theory which formulates the Shiite legitimate regime in the era of gaibah (occultation of Imam Mahdi) and are restoring their glory, which is the first case since the fall of Fatimid Dynasty of Ismaili sect of the Shiite in 1171. The Sunnites are disintegrated in pieces neglecting the obligation of establishment of the khilafah, caliphate, which is the Sunnite legitimate polity, full of injustice, political corruption, social and economic inequality and moral negligence. All in all, this paper argues that this is the backdrop of the contemporary problem of takfiri dispute.

 

3.      Shiite Muslim in Sunnite View

At the 27th International Islamic Unity Conference in January 2014, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned about the danger of takfiri groups. He believed that the enemy are plotting to make the Islamic world neglect Palestine by “creating differences, promoting extremism and deviations in the name of Islam, religion and Sharia and have a number of Muslims declare the majority of Muslims apostates.” He continued, “the existence of these takfiri movements in the Islamic world … has been good news for the ‘arrogance’ and enemies of Islam.”

Apparently, here by the word “takfiri”, Salafi-Jihadis, especially ones of Islamic State seems to be intended.  Contemporary Salafi-Jihadies call the Twelver Shiites ‘Rafidis (Denouncers)’ and profess that they are kafirs, thus one can duly label them takfiris. It should be taken into our consideration that takfir itself is basically one of Islamic law prescriptions (ahkam) common to all Islamic schools of law including the Shiite. In reference to the original understanding of the term, “takfiri” should not be pejorative but remains objective.

Hanafite and Hanbalite jurists judge the Twelver Shiite as kafir when one is a learned scholar and believes that blaming Abu Bakr and Umar is religious teaching and propagates it, though the ordinal Shiite believer is not kafir, but fasiq (evil). Some Shafi‛ite and Malikite jurists also make takfir of the Shiite, despite the fact that majority of them does not regard them kafir but fasiq. [1]

As to the Nusairite who pretends to be Muslim, in contrary to the Twelver Shiite, all the Sunnite four schools of law agree on its takfir (excommunication). As Ibn ‘Abidin, the greatest Ottoman jurist says, it is agreed among the four schools of Islamic law that there is no room for settlement of the Nusairites in the Muslim world even if they would pay jizyah tax because they are atheist hypocrites. Thus, takfir of the Nusairites is not limited to Salafi-Jihadis whose deemed founder. Ibn Taimiyyah, says that they are atheist kafirs worse than Christian and Jews, although they disguise themselves as if they are the Shiites, but almost the consensus among the Sunnite scholars[2].

In short, the Nusairite and the other Shiite ghulah, extremists, are regarded kafirs, not only by Salafi-Jihadies but also by all the Sunnite jurists. The Twelver Shiites are also considered kafirs by a group of jurists of four Sunnite major schools besides Salafi-Jihadis, especially in case when they would propagate Shiite doctrine of defaming Abu Bakr and Umar. It should be noticed that takfir of the Shiite is not deviation from the Sunnite orthodoxy but one of the orthodox views, if it were not the consensus of the Sunnite scholars.

4.      Imamah as a Pillar of the Shiite Faith

In classical textbooks of the Shiite jurisprudence, like al-Mabsut of al-Tusi (d.1067), Shara’i‘ al-Islam of Muhaqqiq al-Hilli(d.1277), it is stated that the words of conversion to Islam and repentance from apostasy is simply “there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is a messenger of Allah” as same as the Sunnite. However, the Shiite counts imamah as a pillar of the faith besides Allah’s unity, Allah’s justice, prophethood, and the hereafter which are necessary for a Muslim to be saved from the eternal punishment of the hellfire, as stated in Kitab al-Bab al-Hadi Ashar of Allamah Hillid.1325, a classical textbook of the Shiite theology.[3]            

              According to the Shiite theology, those who don’t believe in imamah (leadership) of the twelve imams might be kafirs deserving the eternal punishment. It is well known that the Shiite has the doctrine of taqiyyah, religious dissimulation, in case of fear under the rule of the Sunnite majority. Consequently, it is natural that the Shiite literatures are ambiguous about their categorization of the Sunnite as kafir. Therefore, one should be cautious in analyzing their discourse suspecting they are making taqiyyah by concealing their real view on the Sunnite majority who are dominating and persecuting them.

              Nonetheless, the book which profess clearly the Shiite view of the Sunnite existed i.e. Mir’at al-‘Uqul – Sharh al-Kafi of Allamah Majlisi (d.1698), the most prolific writer of the Shiite scholars, the writer of the biggest Shiite Hadith collection Bihar al-Anwar of 110 volumes, and ‘Shaikh al-Islam’ appointed by Safavid emperor Sultan Hussain. Majlisi differentiates between belief in Allah, belief in the Prophet Muhammad, and belief in the hereafter as indispensable creed of Islam and belief in the imamah as not-indispensable one, consequently the denier of the former is considered as kafir in this world and in the hereafter, while the denier of the later is considered as Muslim temporary in this world but in reality kafir in the hereafter.[4]   

The Twelver Shiite considers ‘mukhalif’ as kafir not legally in this world but as kafir religiously in reality, or in the hereafter besides the other non-Twelver Shiite sects. Actually, the technical term of ‘mukhalif’ is closer to Christian ‘heretic’ as believer deviating from the orthodox creed to be excommunicated deserving external punishment, of which no counterpart the Sunnite has. According to the Twelver Shiite, only the Twelver Shiites who believe in imamah of the twelve imams are the community of the salvation of the real Muslims, and all the other sects, mukhalifs, are false Muslims, i.e., heretics even if they are not same as other kafirs, infidels, because they believe in Allah, the Prophet Muhammad, and the hereafter.  

 

5.      Sectarian Character of the Twelver Shiite

As mentioned previously, there is neither concept nor technical term like ‘mukhalif’ similar to the word ‘heretic’ in Christianity in the Sunnite scholarship terminology. The Sunnite world view is dichotomist in the way the human beings are dichotomized into (1) Muslims, believers, and (2) kafirs ,infidels, and the other categories like ahl al-kitab, people of the Scripture, murtadd, apostate, munafiq, hypocrite, mubtadi‘, innovator, and so on, are exceptional and secondary.

In the other hand, the Shiite world view is tripartite, (1) the Twelver Shiite, (2) the true Muslim, mukhalif, the false Muslim, and (3) kafir, the infidel, and the category of mukhalif is very important because the Twelver Shiites have been historically minority, thus surrounded by the mukhalif majority under their pressure, as in Shiite Hadith collection, al-Kafi, Imam Ja‘far Sadiq cursed Murji’ah, terminology for the Sunnite because they postpone Ali after Abu Bakr and Umar, and told that they would kill us and their clothes would have been tainted with our blood until the Day of the Judgement, and that people of Syria (i.e. Umayyads or Sunnites) are worse than people of Rome. People of Rome are infidels but does not assail us but people of Syria are not only infidels but also assail us.

‘Takfir’ literally means ‘to judge someone as kafir’, but it is not usually applied to the heathen but applied to co-religious Muslim, so takfir is similar to ‘excommunication of the heretic’ in Christianity. Consequently, the term takfiri is more suitable to be used to the Twelver Shiite than to the Sunnite, because the Twelver has the term ‘mukhalif’, conception of which is similar to the conception of the ‘heretic’.

Indeed, the Sunnites, especially Salafi-Jihadis, would make takfir, but their takfir lacks sectarian character because it is common procedure to be applied not only to the other sects than Sunnite but also to any individuals including the Sunnites, even Salafi-Jihadis themselves.

Ibn Taimiyyah, the founder of the Salafi-Jihadi school, says, “(doctrines and behaviors of the Shiites are kufr but) Takfir of an individual of them and his/her eternal residence in the hellfire are depending on the certification of the fulfillment of conditions of takfir and absence of the excuses. We are citing text of Qur’an and Hadith regarding the eternal punishment, takfir, and tafsiq(judging as evil) but we don’t judge on the particular individual if he/she belongs to these categories.”[5] Sultan al-Umairi says, in his article “Analysis of Ibn Taimiyyah’s position on categorization of the Twelver Shiite”; “he does not make takfir of them only because they are Shiites but because of fulfillment of the conditions and absence of excuses and confirms that their sayings are kufr but their individuals are not kafirs by separating their sayings from judgment on themselves. ”[6] Therefore, Ayatullah Khamenei’s claim of takfiri’s danger cannot be justified because the Twelver Shiites themselves are takfiris in the correct meaning of the world. The danger of takfir is really existent, but it stemmed from the Shiite in Iran at first. One should comprehend the Shiite doctrine of wilayah al-faqih in order to understand the real nature of the danger.

 

6.      Wilayah al-Faqih and Takfir

As mentioned before, the Shiite considers the Sunnite as Muslim legally in this world, but until the return of Imam Mahdi. Majlisi said; “Allah knows that the mukhalifs would rule and prevail over the Shiites and therefore the Shiites would have no choice but to socialize with them, thus He makes a concession for the Shiites on this and established the application of Islamic laws upon mukhalifs during the period of truce and taqiyyah. But when Imam Mahdi appears, there would be no difference between them and the kafirs”.[7]

The Shiites have coexisted with the Sunnite relatively in peace historically by dealing them as Muslim legally, but the situation has changed since the establishment of Islamic Republic of Iran. The Grand Ayatullah Makarim Shirazi, one of the most prominent ideologues of the Islamic Republic, says in his commentary on Qur’an al-Tafsir al-Amthal, commenting on Chapter 49 verse 10;

 

“The fight (mentioned in this verse) is neither related to the revolt against the righteous Imam of Muslims nor related to the legitimate Islamic government ... emphasize again that prescription on these insurgents are different from those who revolt against the infallible Imam or the righteous Islamic government and these rebels should be punished more severe rules which are mentioned in book of Jihad of Islamic jurisprudence.”[8]

 

The Shiites have dealt the Sunnites as Muslim legally in this world by taqiyyah because of the Sunnite rule over them. But now they have established their own government, the head of which is the Wali Faqih, Jurist Ruler, as the deputy of Imam Mahdi, and the revolt against it is punished by jihad as the revolt against Imam Mahdi, since its rule is the rule of Imam Mahdi and the era of taqiyyah has finished in which the Sunnites are dealt as Muslim temporally.

The authority of this Shiite Islamic government of the Wali Faqih is not limited to Iran but to all Shiite dominant lands. And the Shiites start condemning the Sunnites as kafir without hesitating their massacres, which have happened in Iraq since the fall of Saddam’s regime in 2003. This is the real root of the appearance of the danger of takfir in contemporary Muslim world. And one should overcome the problem from the perspective of Islamic studies.

 

7.      How to Contain the Takfiris?

It has been clarified that the Twelver Shiites are more sectarian than the Sunnites, their concept of ‘mukhalif’ is similar to Christian ‘heretic’, they believe that the mukhalif is not a false Muslim deviating from the true teaching of Islam but a kafir deserving eternal punishment of hell fire, consequently they are duly to be called as takfiris.

On the other hand, the Sunnites are less sectarian and have little interest in takfir of any other sect as a whole. Rather, they are focusing on certain issues like defaming Abu Bakr and Umar. Therefore, although a group of the Sunnite jurists of the four legal schools consider the Twelver Shiites kafirs, they make reservations for not rushing judgment of takfir on the Shiite commonplace follwers, even the most adamant opponent of Shiite in classical Sunnite scholarship, Ibn Taimiyah, the founder Salafi-Jihadi school, professes not make takfir of any individual of the Twelver Shiites without scrutinizing his/her thoughts and circumstances. Hence, theoretically, the Twelver Shiites are more difficult to neutralize their takfiri danger than the Sunnites. But actually, the Twelver Shiites had not performed takfir and had dealt the Sunnite as a Muslim temporally by making taqiyyah in fear of the persecution from the dominant Sunnite majority before establishment of Islamic government of wilayah al-faqih regime in Iran which is equated with the rule of Imam Mahdi by them.

The takfiri Twelver Shiites had coexisted with the dominant less sectarian Sunnite majority by taqiyyah more than one thousand years relatively in peace. At first glance, it seems desirable to restore this state, but this mechanism has stopped functioning well after the establishment of Islamic government. The power balance between the Shiites and the Sunnites has totally changed. Iran has succeeded in return to the international society in honorable manner after diplomatic war with the U.S. of 35 years gaining the fame as the defender of anti-imperialism and has expanded its influence, not only to Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and other regions where Shiite communities exist, but also to the regions where there has never been tangible Shiite community before like Egypt, Indonesia where the sectarian conflicts between the Sunnites and the Shiites happened, which suffered casualties.

The only way to restrain the danger of takfir from the Twelver Shiites is to make them return to the status of taqiyyah. However, the power balance between the Sunnite and the Shiite has so drastically changed that the return to past is impossible. In terms of number, the Sunnites are still the absolute majority and the Shiites are the minority, but the power balance has changed, because the Shiites has attained the power and the honor with adhering to the Islamic political thought of their own version articulated by Ayatullah Khomeini in the name of wilayah al-faqih, while the Sunnites has divided in pieces with huge economic inequality among them and political corruptions and tyrannies everywhere neglecting the obligation of establishing khilafah, the Sunnite sole legitimate political regime.

 

8.      Conclusion and Problem left for the Future

The Shiites realized their revival since Islamic revolution in Iran with Wilayah al-Faqih theory and under Wilayah al-Faqih the Islamic government is considered as the rule of Imam Mahdi, because the Wali Faqih is his deputy. Consequently, they has started discarding taqiyyah, because of their holding political power and disappearance of fear of the persecution from the Sunnite majority, and started takfir of the Sunnites and persecution of them under their dominion in Iraq. Thus the danger of takfiri Shiites have appeared, especially in Iraq, neighboring country of Iran, which awakened Sunnite Salafis to political awareness to transform them takfiri Salafi-Jihadis. Therefore, the Shiites and the Sunnites are now exchanging takfir and killing each other.

Considering the aforementioned explanation, this paper argues that the sole solution to the overall problem is the establishment of khilafah uniting all the Sunnites in the world since only the Sunnite khilafah can make the now powerful Twelver Shiites united under the leadership of the Wali Faqih return to the status of the minority under the Sunnite control, for under the khilafah, Iran becomes a province deprived of political sovereignty where the Shiites enjoy only judicial autonomy with the Wali Faqih as the chief qadi(Judge) of the Twelver Shiite court, not the chief of the state..

The problem left is now the treatment of the Nusairites under the khilafah. As previously mentioned, not only the Salafi-Jihadies but also all the jurists of the 4 Sunnite schools of law agreed that there is no place of residence for the Nusairites in dar al-Islam, so it seems very difficult for them to continue to reside in dar al-Islam, after this bloody civil war in Syria. In my opinion, there are two alternatives. The first is their emigration to outside of Dar al-Islam. And the second is to live as a sect of the Twelver Shiite on the condition that the Wali Faqih takes responsibility of their guidance. Twelver Shiites are required to avoid professing curse on Abu Bakr and Umar as the late Ayatullah Khomeini and Ayatullah Sistani were said that they banned cursing the companions of the Prophet Muhammad, as well as the Sunnites are required not to be inquisitive about what the Shiites have in their mind as far as they keep silence in the public.

 



[1] وفي حاشية ابن عابدين 7/162 :الحاصل أن الحكم بالكفر على ساب الشيخين أو غيرهما من الصحابة مطلقا قول ضعيف لاينبغي الإفتاء به... وأما من سب أحدا من الصحابة فهو فاسق ومبتدع
بالإجماع إلا إذا اعتقد مباح أو يترتب عليه ثواب كما عليه بعض الشيعة (أي, فهو كافر).
في فتاوى السبكي 2/576 : ( وقد رأيت في الفتاوى البديعية من كتب من كتب الحنفية : من أنكر إمامة أبي بكر الصديق رضي الله عنه فهو كافر وقال بعضهم هو مبتدع والصحيح أنه كافر ) اهـ
وفي مختصر الفتاوى المصرية لابن تيمية 560 : ( من سب أحدا من الأولياء الذين ليسوا بأنبياء فإنه لا يكفر ،إلا إذا كان سبه مخالفا لأصل من أصول الإيمان، مثل أن يتخذ ذلك السب دينا وقد علم أنه ليس بدين ،وعلى هذا ينبني النزاع في تكفير الرافضة ) اهـ
عند الشافعية إذا كان السب لأبي بكر وعمر فوجهان : التكفير وعدم التكفير والمذهب عدمالتكفي وإذا كان السب لمن عداهما من الصحابة فلا تكفير قولا واحدا واختار التقي السبكي تكفير من فعل ذلك.
   وفي تفسير ابن كثير 1/487 : (قلت : وقد ذهب طائفة من العلماء إلى تكفير من سب الصحابة وهو رواية عن مالك بن أنسرحمه الله ) اهـ
 (حكم من سب الصحابة في المذاهب الأربعة - دراسة فقهية مقارنة, إعداد : عبد الفتاح بن صالح قديش اليافعي)
[2]. وقال في مجموع الفتاوى (35,145,149 35) (ج.35,ص.145,149): هؤلاء القوم المسمون بالنصيرية هم وسائر أصناف القرامطة الباطنية أكفر من اليهود والنصارى؛ بل وأكفر من كثير من المشركين وضررهم على أمة محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم أعظم من ضرر الكفار المحاربين مثل كفار التتار والفرنج وغيرهم؛ فإن هؤلاء يتظاهرون عند جهال المسلمين بالتشيع وموالاة أهل البيت وهم في الحقيقة لا يؤمنون بالله ولا برسوله ولا بكتابه ولا بأمر ولا نهي ولا ثواب ولا عقاب ولا جنة ولا نار ولا بأحد من المرسلين قبل محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم ولا بملة من الملل السالفة.
وسئل ىعن " الدرزية " و " النصيرية " : ما حكمهم ؟ فأجاب: هؤلاء " الدرزية " و " النصيرية " كفار باتفاق المسلمين لا يحل أكل ذبائحهم ولا نكاح نسائهم ؛ بل ولا يقرون بالجزية ؛ فإنهم مرتدون عن دين الإسلام ليسوا مسلمين.
[3] قال العلامة الحلي: أجمع العلماء كافة على وجوب معرفة الله تعالى وصفاته الثبوتية والسلبية وما يصح عليه ويمتنع والنبوة والإمامة والمعاد بالدليل لا بالتقليد فلا بد من ذكر ما لا يمكن جهله على أحد من المسلمين ومن جهل شيئا منه فقد خرج عن ربقة المؤمنين واستحق العقاب الدائم
[4] والحاصل أن للكفر معان شتى ، ولكل ها أحكام يترتب عليها كالإيمان ، والخوارج لما سمعوا إطلاق الكفر وسلب الإيمان على أصحاب الكبائر بل الصغائر أيضا ولم يفرقوا بين معانيه وأحكامه أجروا جميع أحكام الكفر في الدنيا والآخرة على الفساق وضيقوا الأمر على المسلمين وحكموا بأن أصحاب الكبائر بل الصغائر أيضا كفار بالمعنى الذي يطلق على من لم يشهد الشهادتين ، وليس كذلك بل الكفر ببعض معانيه يجتمع مع الإسلام ببعض معانيه ، وليس كل من أطلق عليه الكفر في الأخبار يستحق القتل وتحرم مناكحته ومعاشرته ، وليس كل من سلب عنه الإيمان في الآيات والأخبار يجب خلوده في النار ، فالكفر يطلق على من أنكر شيئا من ضروريات دين الإسلام ظاهرا وباطنا كالشهادتين أو المعاد ، فهو يجري عليه أحكام الكفار في الدنيا ويخلد في النار في الآخرة .... ويطلق على(من) أخل بشيء من العقائد الإيمانية وإن لم يكن ضروريا لدين الإسلام كالإمامة ، والمشهور أنهم في الآخرة بحكم الكفار وهم مخلدون في النار كالمخالفين وسائر فرق الشيعة سوى الإمامية.
[5]   وأنه لا يكفرهم بمجرد كونهم رافضة , بل لا بد من توفر شروط وانتفاء موانع , ولهذا قرر هنا أن أقوالهم كفر , وأما أعيانهم فليسوا كفارا , فقد فرق بين أقوالهم وبين حكمهم في أنفسهم
وأما تكفيرهم وتخليدهم ففيه أيضا للعلماء قولان مشهوران , وهما روايتان عن أحمد , والقولان في الخوارج والمارقين من الحرورية , والرافضة ونحوهم , والصحيح : أن هذه الأقوال التي يقولونها التي يعلم أنها مخالفة لما جاء به الرسول كفر , وكذلك أفعالهم التي هي من جنس أفعال الكفار بالمسلمين هي كفر أيضا , وقد ذكرت دلائل ذلك في غير هذا الموضع , لكن تكفير الواحد المعين منهم , والحكم بتخليده في النار , موقوف على ثبوت شروط التكفير وانتفاء موانعه , فإنا نطلق القول بنصوص الوعد والتكفير والتفسيق , ولا نحكم للمعين بدخولهوأما تكفيرهم وتخليدهم ففيه أيضا للعلماء قولان مشهوران , وهما روايتان عن أحمد , والقولان في الخوارج والمارقين من الحرورية , والرافضة ونحوهم , والصحيح : أن هذه الأقوال التي يقولونها التي يعلم أنها مخالفة لما جاء به الرسول كفر , وكذلك أفعالهم التي هي من جنس أفعال الكفار بالمسلمين هي كفر أيضا , وقد ذكرت دلائل ذلك في غير هذا الموضع , لكن تكفير الواحد المعين منهم , والحكم بتخليده في النار , موقوف على ثبوت شروط التكفير وانتفاء موانعه , فإنا نطلق القول بنصوص الوعد والتكفير والتفسيق , ولا نحكم للمعين بدخوله. في مجموع الفتاوى, ج.28, ص.500..
[6] وأنه لا يكفرهم بمجرد كونهم رافضة , بل لا بد من توفر شروط وانتفاء موانع , ولهذا قرر هنا أن أقوالهم كفر , وأما أعيانهم فليسوا كفارا , فقد فرق بين أقوالهم وبين حكمهم في أنفسهم
[7] لكن الله تعالى لما علم أن للمخالفين دولة و غلبة على الشيعة و لا بد لهم من معاشرتهم رخص لهم في جميع ذلك و أجرى على المخالفين في زمان الهدنة و التقية أحكام المسلمين و في زمن القائم عليه السلام لا فرق بينهم و بين الكفار
[8] هو النزاع الواقع بين الطائفتين المؤمنين، وليس في هذا النزاع نهوض بوجه إمام المسلمين العادل ولا نهوض بوجه الحكومة الإسلامية الصالحة....
 نؤكّد مرّةً أُخرى أنّ حكم هؤلاء البغاة منفصل عن حكم الذين يقفون بوجه الإمام المعصوم أو الحكومة الإسلامية العادلة، فإنّ لهذه الطائفة الأخيرة أحكاماً أشدّ وأصعب واردة في كتاب الجهاد من الفقه الإسلامي.