it was possible for time to show it to exist for there is no benefit in its being present with the impossibility of showing it for the sake of taqiyya. others said about some of the caliphs who had gone on their way that they are alive and will appear in their time and they differed in identifying it until a group believed that the one called alhakim is still alive and others said that in other than it to a type of long confusion. if it is said that these are a group of fools who are not counted in our group so if you add them to us and gather between us and them the majority will approach us so you will not gather to us from he disagrees with us as he disagrees with you. rather fairness is for you to look at us alone and our word does not differ at all. we said and we also if we are considered alone then we do not disagree with ourselves. this objection may inevitably be raised. whoever believes in a doctrine in all matters does not disagree with himself and with him is a group of people who agree with him in his belief in all matters. so if you consider him with his group and do not gather with them those who disagree with them then through foolishness dullness and shortsightedness you will find their word united. so it does not indicate that the truth is in them. so if you say how did you know the foolishness of those who disagree with you? that will turn against you. from your opposition to those who say that teaching from the infallible is obligatory even if you claim that those who say that the view is correct are one group even if they differ in the details of the school of thought we say and those who say that the infallible imam is indispensable are one group even if they differ in the details. this is and there is no escape from it forever. the second answer is that we say that your statement that unity is a sign of truth and multiplicity is a sign of falsehood is false in both cases so perhaps one is false and perhaps many.
كان يحتمل الزمان إظهاره لوجد فانه لا فائدة في كونه موجودا مع تعذر الإظهار للتقية وقال آخرون في بعض الخلفاء الذين مضوا لسبيلهم إنهم أحياء وسيظهرون في أوانه واختلفوا في تعيينه حتى اعتقد فريق ان الملقب بالحاكم هو حي بعد وقال آخرون ذلك في غيره الى نوع من الخبط طويل فان قيل هؤلاء جماعة من الحمقى غير معدودين في زمرتنا فإذا ضممتموهم الينا وجمعتم بيننا وبينهم تطرقت الكثرة الينا فلم تجمعون الينا من يخالفنا كما يخالفكم بل الإنصاف أن تنظروا الينا وحدنا ونحن لا تختلف كلمتنا اصلا قلنا ونحن أيضا إذا إعتبرنا وحدنا فنحن لا نخالف انفسنا وقد يرد هذا الاعتراض لا محالة من يعتقد مذهبا في جميع المسائل لا يخالف نفسه ومعه جماعة من الخلق يوافقونه في معتقده في الجميع فإذا اعتبرتموه مع فرقته ولم تجمعوا اليهم من يخالفهم فبالحماقة والبلادة وقصور النظر ألفيت كلمتهم متحده فلا يدل على أن الحق فيهم فإن قلتم وبم عرفتم حماقة مخالفيكم انقلب ذلك عليكم من مخالفتكم القائلين بوجوب التعليم من المعصوم وإن زعمتم ان القائلين بأن النظر صحيح فرقة واحدة وإن اختلفوا في تفاصيل المذهب قلنا والقائلون بأن الامام المعصوم لا بد منه فرقة واحدة وإن اختلفوا في التفصيل هذا ولا محيص عنه أبد الدهر الجواب الثاني وهو أنا نقول قولكم الوحدة أمارة الحق والكثرة أمارة الباطل باطل في الطرفين فرب واحد باطل ورب كثير