Al-Kafi · Hadith 1

The Book of Belief and Disbelief · Pillars and Branches of Disbelief · Volume 2, book 1, chapter 167, Hadith 1

Original Arabic text

1ـ عَلِيُّ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنْ حَمَّادِ بْنِ عِيسَى عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ بْنِ عُمَرَ الْيَمَانِيِّ عَنْ عُمَرَ بْنِ أُذَيْنَةَ عَنْ أَبَانِ بْنِ أَبِي عَيَّاشٍ عَنْ سُلَيْمِ بْنِ قَيْسٍ الْهِلالِيِّ عَنْ أَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وآلِه) قَالَ بُنِيَ الْكُفْرُ عَلَى أَرْبَعِ دَعَائِمَ الْفِسْقِ وَالْغُلُوِّ وَالشَّكِّ وَالشُّبْهَةِ وَالْفِسْقُ عَلَى أَرْبَعِ شُعَبٍ عَلَى الْجَفَاءِ وَالْعَمَى وَالْغَفْلَةِ وَالْعُتُوِّ فَمَنْ جَفَا احْتَقَرَ الْحَقَّ وَمَقَتَ الْفُقَهَاءَ وَأَصَرَّ عَلَى الْحِنْثِ الْعَظِيمِ وَمَنْ عَمِيَ نَسِيَ الذِّكْرَ وَاتَّبَعَ الظَّنَّ وَبَارَزَ خَالِقَهُ وَأَلَحَّ عَلَيْهِ الشَّيْطَانُ وَطَلَبَ الْمَغْفِرَةَ بِلا تَوْبَةٍ وَلا اسْتِكَانَةٍ وَلا غَفْلَةٍ وَمَنْ غَفَلَ جَنَى عَلَى نَفْسِهِ وَانْقَلَبَ عَلَى ظَهْرِهِ وَحَسِبَ غَيَّهُ رُشْداً وَغَرَّتْهُ الأمَانِيُّ وَأَخَذَتْهُ الْحَسْرَةُ وَالنَّدَامَةُ إِذَا قُضِيَ الأمْرُ وَانْكَشَفَ عَنْهُ الْغِطَاءُ وَبَدَا لَهُ مَا لَمْ يَكُنْ يَحْتَسِبُ وَمَنْ عَتَا عَنْ أَمْرِ الله شَكَّ وَمَنْ شَكَّ تَعَالَى الله عَلَيْهِ فَأَذَلَّهُ بِسُلْطَانِهِ وَصَغَّرَهُ بِجَلالِهِ كَمَا اغْتَرَّ بِرَبِّهِ الْكَرِيمِ وَفَرَّطَ فِي أَمْرِهِ وَالْغُلُوُّ عَلَى أَرْبَعِ شُعَبٍ عَلَى التَّعَمُّقِ بِالرَّأْيِ وَالتَّنَازُعِ فِيهِ وَالزَّيْغِ وَالشِّقَاقِ فَمَنْ تَعَمَّقَ لَمْ يُنِبْ إِلَى الْحَقِّ وَلَمْ يَزْدَدْ إِلا غَرَقاً فِي الْغَمَرَاتِ وَلَمْ تَنْحَسِرْ عَنْهُ فِتْنَةٌ إِلا غَشِيَتْهُ أُخْرَى وَانْخَرَقَ دِينُهُ فَهُوَ يَهْوِي فِي أَمْرٍ مَرِيجٍ وَمَنْ نَازَعَ فِي الرَّأْيِ وَخَاصَمَ شُهِرَ بِالْعَثَلِ مِنْ طُولِ اللَّجَاجِ وَمَنْ زَاغَ قَبُحَتْ عِنْدَهُ الْحَسَنَةُ وَحَسُنَتْ عِنْدَهُ السَّيِّئَةُ وَمَنْ شَاقَّ اعْوَرَّتْ عَلَيْهِ طُرُقُهُ وَاعْتَرَضَ عَلَيْهِ أَمْرُهُ فَضَاقَ عَلَيْهِ مَخْرَجُهُ إِذَا لَمْ يَتَّبِعْ سَبِيلَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالشَّكُّ عَلَى أَرْبَعِ شُعَبٍ عَلَى الْمِرْيَةِ وَالْهَوَى وَالتَّرَدُّدِ وَالإسْتِسْلامِ وَهُوَ قَوْلُ الله عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فَبِأَيِّ آلاءِ رَبِّكَ تَتَمارى‏ وَفِي رِوَايَةٍ أُخْرَى عَلَى الْمِرْيَةِ وَالْهَوْلِ مِنَ الْحَقِّ وَالتَّرَدُّدِ وَالإسْتِسْلامِ لِلْجَهْلِ وَأَهْلِهِ فَمَنْ هَالَهُ مَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ نَكَصَ عَلَى عَقِبَيْهِ وَمَنِ امْتَرَى فِي الدِّينِ تَرَدَّدَ فِي الرَّيْبِ وَسَبَقَهُ الأوَّلُونَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَأَدْرَكَهُ الآخَرُونَ وَوَطِئَتْهُ سَنَابِكُ الشَّيْطَانِ وَمَنِ اسْتَسْلَمَ لِهَلَكَةِ الدُّنْيَا وَالآخِرَةِ هَلَكَ فِيمَا بَيْنَهُمَا وَمَنْ نَجَا مِنْ ذَلِكَ فَمِنْ فَضْلِ الْيَقِينِ وَلَمْ يَخْلُقِ الله خَلْقاً أَقَلَّ مِنَ الْيَقِينِ وَالشُّبْهَةُ عَلَى أَرْبَعِ شُعَبٍ إِعْجَابٍ بِالزِّينَةِ وَتَسْوِيلِ النَّفْسِ وَتَأَوُّلِ الْعِوَجِ وَلَبْسِ الْحَقِّ بِالْبَاطِلِ وَذَلِكَ بِأَنَّ الزِّينَةَ تَصْدِفُ عَنِ الْبَيِّنَةِ وَأَنَّ تَسْوِيلَ النَّفْسِ يُقَحِّمُ عَلَى الشَّهْوَةِ وَأَنَّ الْعِوَجَ يَمِيلُ بِصَاحِبِهِ مَيْلاً عَظِيماً وَأَنَّ اللَّبْسَ ظُلُمَاتٌ بَعْضُهَا فَوْقَ بَعْضٍ فَذَلِكَ الْكُفْرُ وَدَعَائِمُهُ وَشُعَبُهُ.

Published English translation

1. Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from his father from Hammad ibn ‘Isa from Ibrahim ibn ‘Umar al-Yamani from ‘Umar ibn ‘Udhaynah from Aban ibn abu ‘Ayyash from Sulaym ibn Qays al-Hilali from Amir al-Mu’minin, Ali ibn abu Talib (a.s.) who has said the following: “Disbelief is established on four pillars: Sinfulness, Extremism, Doubt and Skepticism. Sinfulness has four branches: harshness of manners, blindness of heart, neglect, and arrogance. Whoever behaves in a harsh manner belittles the truth, hates the people of profound understanding and persists in great sins. Whoever becomes blind of heart forgets to remember (the truth), follows guesses, opposes his Creator and Satan turns bold toward him. He asks forgiveness without repenting, feeling humble and without being unaware of sin. Whoever is neglectful and careless commits a crime against his own soul, turns himself upside down and thinks of his misguidance as guidance. Yearnings deceives him, remorse and pangs of guilt seize him and when the matters settle and the curtain is raised, he finds it to be what he did not expect. Whoever is arrogant to obey the commands of Allah doubts and whoever doubts, Allah overpowers him and humiliates him by His Authority and makes him little by His Glory as he has played deceit against his Honorable Lord and has gone to extremes in his affairs. “Extremism is of four branches: Seeking profundity of opinion, disputation over an opinion, looking for deviations in it and creating a schism therein. “Whoever seeks extreme complexity he does not return to the truth, and does not gain anything except sinking in deeper troubles. He does not finish removing one before another trouble overwhelms him. His religion sustains holes and he falls deeper in chaos. Whoever seeks disputation in an opinion and quarrels, his absurdity comes in the open due to prolonged controversy. Whoever deviates, goodness seems terrible to him and evil begins to look lovelier. “Whoever creates a schism, his paths lead to dead end, his affairs burden him, his escape narrows if he would not follow the path of the believers. “Doubt is of four branches: Suspicion, desire, hesitation and submission. It is mentioned in the words of Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, ‘About which of the bounties of your Lord can they persistently dispute and cast doubts?’ (53:55) “In another Hadith it is said, ‘It branches in suspicion, fear of truth, hesitation and submission before ignorance and ignorant people.’ “Whoever fears what is before him turns back. Whoever is suspicious of religion remains hesitant in doubts and the foremost believing people move forward before him and those behind catch up with him. He turns out to be flattened under the hooves of Satan. Whoever submits to worldly destruction and that of the next life is destroyed between the two. Whoever is saved from such condition is due to the excellence of certainty. Allah has not created any creature fewer than certainty. “Casting doubt is of four branches: a liking of attractiveness, stimulation of soul, interpretation of crookedness and mixing of truth with falsehood. “This is because attractiveness clashes with evidence, stimulation of soul indulges in desires and crookedness bends its companion a great bent. Hiding and mixing truth with falsehood is darkness upon darkness. That is disbelief, its pillars and branches.’”

Narrator and transmission

See the transmission information preserved in the original source text.

Attributed scholarly assessments

Allamah Baqir al-Majlisi: مختلف فيه

Mirʾāt al-ʿUqūl fī Sharḥ Akhbār Āl al-Rasūl (1/139)

Assessment transcribed from the source's named scholar and reference. No new grading or consensus is asserted; differing entries remain separate.

Shaykh Baqir al-Behbudi: Catalogue non-inclusion note (not an authenticity grade)

Ṣaḥīḥ al-Kāfī

Source records non-inclusion in this scholar's selection; this is not itself a weak or authentic grade.

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translator: Muhammad Sarwar
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