سورة النساء

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): إِنَّ الَّذِینَ یَکْفُرُونَ بِاللهِ وَ رُسُلِهِ وَ یُرِیدُونَ أَنْ یُفَرِّقُوا بَیْنَ اللهِ وَ رُسُلِهِ وَ یَقُولُونَ نُؤْمِنُ بِبَعْضٍ وَ نَکْفُرُ بِبَعْضٍ [Indeed those who disbelieve in Allah and His messengers and wish to make a distinction between Allah and His messengers and say: we believe in some and disbelieve in others]; they are those who affirmed the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) but denied Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him). وَ یُرِیدُونَ أَنْ یَتَّخِذُوا بَیْنَ ذلِکَ سَبِیلًا أُولئِکَ هُمُ الْکافِرُونَ حَقًّا [And they wish to take a way between that — those are the disbelievers in truth].

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): In Da'a'im it is reported: It is narrated from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) that a person asked him: "O son of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! Tell me, is the ummah of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) only his Ahl al-Bayt?" He said: "Yes." He asked: "So all the Muslims and everyone who has believed in him and affirmed him are not his ummah?!" Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: "Your second question is like your first, and its answer is that it is specific to the Ahl al-Bayt of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), and the rest of the Muslims who are not from the Ahl al-Bayt of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), from the Banu Hashim, are not the ummah of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family). And all the people of the earth, from the east and west of the world, whether Arab or non-Arab, whether human or jinn, whoever believes in Allah and His Messenger and affirms him and follows him — through following the ummah in which Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) was raised up [which is us, the Ahl al-Bayt] — they are counted as the ummah of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), by way of tawalli (allegiance) to that ummah. So whoever from the Muslims is like this, and holds Allah to be one and affirms the truthfulness of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), he is counted from the ummah among whom Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) was raised up. And whoever denies the excellences of this ummah, he is one of those about whom He said: قالوا نُؤْمِنُ بِبَعْضٍ وَ نَکْفُرُ بِبَعْضٍ [they said: We believe in some and disbelieve in some], and they wish to choose for themselves a new path between these two ways. They are the ones who, when it is said to them, 'Do you believe in Allah and His Messenger?' say 'Yes,' but when it is said to them, 'Do you affirm the excellences of the family of Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), in whom you believe and whom you affirm?' they say 'No,' because they have no superiority over us."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): The companions of the Aqaba of Aws [who intended to kill the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family)] were fourteen men. Jabir has narrated from Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) that Abu al-Surur, Abu al-Dawahi, Abu al-Ma'arif, Ibn Awf, Sa'd, Abu Sufyan and his son, Fa'l, Fa'il, Mughira ibn Shu'ba, Abu al-A'war al-Sulami, and Abu Qatada al-Ansari were among them, and this verse was revealed concerning them: إِنَّ الَّذِینَ یَکْفُرُونَ بِاللهِ وَ رُسُلِهِ [Surely those who disbelieve in Allah and His messengers].