Section Two: Redemption

The doctrine of Redemption (Al-Fida') is one of the fundamental creedal matters prevalent in the exoteric religions. We will address this doctrine as found among the deficient Shia and the Christians, and we will illustrate the point of resemblance between the two. They resemble each other in this doctrine in a strange manner, and we will look at what the apparentists of the Christians and the apparentists of the Shia said about this matter. We will also touch upon the esotericists among the Christians who do not believe in the matter of the killing (of Christ) and believe in the substitution, and their condition is similar to the condition of the Monotheists (the Esotericists).

This is strange, O deficient Shia! O you who reject the crucifixion of Christ and believe that the substitution fell upon the opponent (al-Didd)—may God curse him—thus you have resembled the saying of the Esotericists from the Christians who perished by killing in our time at the hands of the Christian apparentists. How similar is our situation to yours, O deficient Shia! You spill our blood and say: "Whoever does not believe in the killing of Husayn, kill him!"

Our Master Al-Sadiq, may his might be exalted, said: "O son of my uncle, that is less harmful to Islam and its people. It was invented by a people who claimed our affection and pretended that they adhered to our loyalty and professed our Imamate. They claimed that Husayn was not killed and that the matter was made to appear so to the people, like Jesus son of Mary. Therefore, there is no blame on Banu Umayyah and no fault, according to their claim. O son of my uncle, whoever claims that Husayn was not killed has lied against the Messenger of God and 'Ali, and has lied against the Imams after them in their reports of his killing. And whoever lies against them is an unbeliever (Kafir) in God the Almighty, and his blood is permissible for anyone who hears that from him."¹