Questioner:
Are the Khomeinists, Your Eminence Shaykh, from among the Rafida (the Shia)?
The Sheikh:
Yes, Khomeini is one of the heads of the Rafida—one of their leaders.
The Sheikh:
They and their followers are Rafida. They are those who exaggerate regarding the Twelve Imams; they exaggerate regarding them and glorify them, believing that they [the Imams] know the unseen (Al-Ghayb) and that they are infallible. They call upon them instead of Allah, seek their aid, and make vows to them.
This is present in their books; anyone who reviews Al-Kafi or other than Al-Kafi will find that. We ask Allah for safety. We ask Allah to return them to repentance.
We ask Allah to return them to repentance and to protect the Muslims from their evil and the evil of those like them; because they have claimed Islam while they oppose Islam, and in reality, they are at war with Islam. Yes.
Questioner:
This has become clear, without a doubt.
The Sheikh:
We ask Allah for well-being.
Questioner:
How do you advise Muslims to confront this ideology, which has begun to spread in recent times, Shaykh Abd al-Aziz?
The Sheikh:
We advise Muslims not to be deceived by their claims. For the claims they make and their assertions that they adhere to the entirety of Islam have no basis and no truth to them; it is all the work of hypocrisy. They are the people of nifaq (hypocrisy) and the people of taqiyyah (dissimulation). Anyone who has studied their books would know this.
What is incumbent upon the believers and Muslims is to recognize that these claims, and the claim of the “Islamic Republic,” are entirely baseless. It is merely an Islamic facade, while the reality within is contrary to Islam. The reality within is idolatry, hostility toward Islam, and hostility toward the Prophet of Islam and all of his Sahabah (Companions)—refusing to pray for Allah to be pleased with them, and instead declaring them to be disbelievers and transgressors, except for a very small number [of the Companions].
So the point is that Khomeini and his followers are among the prominent figures of the Rafidah (the Shia), who revere the Rafidah creed, adhere to it, and advocate for it. They are the ones who revere the Twelve Imams, claiming that they are the [rightful] Imams and that the leadership must belong to them, while the leadership of anyone else is invalid. At the head of them [these Imams] is Ali—may Allah be pleased with him.
As for Ali, they spoke the truth [about his virtues]; Ali was a righteous man, and he is the fourth [Caliph] after the [first] three, and he is the best of them after the three—the best of the Companions after the three. Likewise, al-Hasan and al-Husayn are among the Companions—may Allah be pleased with them and make them content.
However, they never assumed leadership, except for al-Hasan, who ruled for a short time and then stepped down, handing the Imamate and leadership over to Mu’awiyah—may God be pleased with him. As for al-Husayn and those after him, they never assumed any leadership. Yet the Rafidah possess no insight; they have nothing but baseless claims. Yes.
Questioner:
We ask Allah to guide them.
See also:
- The Islamic Ruling on the Ideology of Khomeini and the Iranian State - Permanent Committee
- Distinguishing Between the Shia and the Rafidah - Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen