he does not believe in our disbelief but he believes that we are the people of rebellion and that our insights have slipped from the realization of the truth because we have turned away from following him out of stubbornness and spite. so this persons blood should not be shed nor should he be judged as a disbeliever because of these statements but rather he should be judged as a misguided innovator and he should be deterred from his misguidance and innovation in accordance with what the opinion of the imam requires. as for judging his disbelief and making his blood shed because of these statements no and this is limited to his misguidance and his innovating because he did not believe in anything of what we have mentioned of their doctrine in theology and in the matters of gathering and resurrection but he did not believe in all of that except what we believe and he was distinguished from us by the amount that we have mentioned now. so if it is said why did they not disbelieve in their saying that the one deserving of the imamate in the first generation was ali without abu bakr and umar and those after him and that he pushed with falsehood and in that is a breach of the consensus of the people of religion we say we do not deny what is in it of the intrusion into the breach of the consensus and for that reason we have advanced from the mere error to misguidance immorality and innovation but it does not end there. to
ولا يعتقد كفرنا ولكنه يعتقد فينا أنا أهل البغى زلت بصائرنا عن درك الحق خطأ إذ عدلنا عن اتباعه عنادا ونكدا فهذا الشخص لا يستباح سفك دمه ولا يحكم بكفره لهذه الاقاويل بل يحكم بكونه ضالا مبتدعا فيزجر عن ضلاله وبدعته بما يقتضيه رأي الإمام فأما أن يحكم بكفره ويستباح دمه بهذه المقالات فلا وهذا انما يقتصر على تضليله وتبديعه إذ لم يعتقد شيئا مما حكينا من مذهبهم في الالهيات وفي امور الحشر والنشر ولكنه لم يعتقد في جميع ذلك إلا ما نعتقده وانما تميز عنا بالقدرالذي حكيناه الآن فأن قيل هلا كفر تموهم بقولهم أن مستحق الإمامة في الصدر الاول كان عليا دون أبي بكر وعمر ومن بعده وأنه دفع بالباطل وفي ذلك خرق الإجماع أهل الدين قلنا لا ننكر ما فيه من القحوم على خرق الإجماع ولذلك ترقينا من التخطئة المجردة إلى التضليل والتفسيق والتبديع ولكن لا تنتهي إلى