This lesson explored two major axes of early theological disagreement in Islām: the dispute over al-Imāmah (political–religious leadership) and the emergence of deviation regarding al-Qadar (divine decree). With respect to al-Imāmah, the lesson clarified that the earliest Shīʿah were not a single group but divided into three categories: al-Mufaḍḍilah, who merely preferred ʿAlī رضي الله عنه over ʿUthmān in virtue without disputing the legitimacy of the caliphate; al-Sabbābah, who reviled Abū Bakr and ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما and some even declared them disbelievers; and al-Muʾallihah, the followers of ʿAbdullāh ibn Sabāʾ, who deified ʿAlī رضي الله عنه. The lesson emphasized that the first group existed among some of the Salaf and was not considered misguidance, whereas the latter two represented clear deviation.

The discussion then detailed the two foundational theories of al-Imāmah: that it is established by al-ikhtiyār wa’l-ittifāq (communal agreement and choice), or by al-naṣṣ wa’l-taʿyīn (explicit designation). Those who affirmed choice allowed the imamate of whoever the Ummah or a معتبر group agreed upon, sometimes with conditions such as Qurashī or Hāshimī lineage, leading them to accept the rule of Muʿāwiyah and the Umayyads. Those who held to designation fractured further after ʿAlī رضي الله عنه: some claimed he designated Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥanafiyyah (the Kaysāniyyah), while others restricted the imamate to al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn رضي الله عنهما, from whom emerged groups such as al-Zaydiyyah, al-Imāmiyyah, and al-Ismāʿīliyyah. The lesson concluded that Shīʿite divisions multiplied according to disagreements over the identity of the Imāmُ, resulting in numerous sects among both the ghulātُ and the Rāfiḍahُ.

Finally, the lesson turned to doctrinal اختلافات في الأصول, focusing on the innovation of denying al-Qadarُ. It traced the origin of this belief to Maʿbad al-Juhanīُ and Ghaylān al-Dimashqīُ, who denied the divine decree and, in its most extreme form, negated the pre-eternal knowledge of Allāhُ. Influenced by non-Islamic ideas, this deviation later developed within kalāmُ schools such as the Muʿtazilahُ, founded by Wāṣil ibn ʿAṭāʾُ. The firm stance of the Ṣaḥābahُ, Tābiʿīnُ, and righteous rulers—especially ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmarُ, Ibn ʿAbbāsُ, al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrīُ, and ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīzُ—was highlighted as a model of refuting bidʿahُ through the Qurʾānُ, Sunnahُ, and affirmation that human will and action exist but remain subordinate to the all-encompassing will, knowledge, and creation of Allāhُ.