Explanation of the author's statement: "And among the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) were the Rafidah and the Khawarij"

The Shaykh : All right, we have reached the fifth principle. He said: "And among the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) were the Rafidah and the Khawarij"
Among the Companions of the Messenger (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him). "Ashab" is the plural of "sahib," and "sahabah" is a collective noun for "sahib." A "sahib" is one who met the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) while believing in him and died upon that faith. However, this specific definition applies to the Companions. In the language, a "sahib" is one who has been in your company for a long time. That is the linguistic meaning of "sahib." As for "sahabah," it refers to one who met the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) while believing in him, even if only for a moment, and even if he did not see him.
The student: ...

The Shaykh : Yes, and even if he did not see him.
The student: ...

The Shaykh : A blind person who met the Messenger while he was blind; we say this person is a Companion. This is one of the unique attributes of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): that a person can be among his Companions even if he did not meet him except for a moment, provided that he believed in him.
"Between the Rafidah and the Khawarij". The Rafidah are those who are called Shi'ah today. They were called Rafidah because they rejected Zayd ibn 'Ali ibn al-Husayn ibn 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him), to whom the Zaydiyyah now claim affiliation. The Zaydiyyah claim affiliation to him. They rejected him because they came to him asking what he said about Abu Bakr and 'Umar. They wanted him to say that they were disbelievers—may Allah protect us from that. But he (may Allah be pleased with him) said to them, "Yes, they were the two ministers of my father, yes."
The student: Ministers of my grandfather.

The Shaykh : Ministers of my grandfather, meaning by that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). So he praised them, but they rejected him, became angry with him, and left him. Thus, they were called Rafidah. These Rafidah, may Allah protect us from them, have known principles that they follow. Among the ugliest of their principles is the Imamate, which includes the infallibility of the Imam. It entails that the Imam is infallible and does not make mistakes, and that the station of the Imamate is higher than the station of Prophethood, because the Imam receives directly from Allah, while the Prophet receives through an intermediary.
The student: Jibril

The Shaykh : The Prophet receives through the Messenger, and the Messenger is Jibril, so it is higher. And the Imam never makes a mistake in their view. Rather, their extremists, may Allah protect us from them, claim that the Imam creates; he says to a thing, "Be," and it is. As for the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), they say that all the Companions are disbelievers who apostatized after the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Even Abu Bakr and 'Umar, in their claim, were disbelievers and died upon hypocrisy, may Allah protect us from that. They do not exempt anyone from the Companions except the Ahl al-Bayt, and I think some of the Ahl al-Bayt, or all of them.
The student: Three.

The Shaykh : Yes
The student: Three, just three.

The Shaykh : Except a small group who said they are among the awliya (close friends of Allah) of the Ahl al-Bayt, and the rest are disbelievers. In fact, I have seen in the book *Al-Fasl bayn al-Millal wa al-Nihal* that their extremists declared even 'Ali ibn Abi Talib a disbeliever. Why? They said because 'Ali accepted injustice and falsehood. Why? Because he pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr and 'Umar. It was obligatory for him to denounce their pledge. So when he did not uphold truth and justice and agreed to injustice, he became an oppressor and a disbeliever. As for the Khawarij, they are the opposite. The Khawarij declared 'Ali ibn Abi Talib a disbeliever, and they declared Mu'awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan a disbeliever, and they declared every person who was not on their path a disbeliever. They considered the blood of Muslims lawful and permitted it, may Allah protect us from that. But they are as the Prophet (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him) described them: Their faith does not go beyond their throats. So these people exaggerated regarding the Ahl al-Bayt and their followers, and the Khawarij are the opposite. As for the people of the Sunnah and the community, they were the middle path. They said, "We accord the Ahl al-Bayt their status, and we see that they have two rights over us. The first right is the right of Islam and faith, and the second right is the right of
The student: Kinship.

The Shaykh : kinship with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). And they said that the kinship of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) has a right over us. But it is their right over us that we accord them their status and do not exaggerate in them or exceed the limit. And when we give them their right, we have fulfilled what is necessary. All right, regarding the Companions of the Messenger (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him), the rest of them say that they have a right over us of respect, honor, and satisfaction, and that we should be as Allah the Exalted said: And we do not oppose any of them, ever. Not the Ahl al-Bayt, nor anyone other than the Ahl al-Bayt. We give each of them his right. So they became the middle path between the harshness and extremism of the Khawarij regarding the Ahl al-Bayt—the Khawarij being harsh—and the Rafidah being extremists. And the people of the Sunnah are the middle, the middle between these and those.