An Analysis of the Phrase " [He] is not from us" in the Traditions of the Infallibles (a) From the Perspective of the Two Schools of Thought

In the original ḥadīth sources of the two schools of thought, Shiʿi and Sunni, there are certain narrations from the infallibles (a) that contain the phrase: laysa minnā (“[He] is not from us”). The ḥadīth scholars of the two schools differ regarding the meaning of this statement of the Infallibles (a). Actually, the meaning of this phrase is: ‘he is not from our Shiʿa’ as understood from the context of the narrations and verses. In some of the traditions, the referents of the phrase “from us” are specifically the righteous Shiʿas. In other traditions this phrase denotes one’s exit from Islam, where ‘Islam’ refers to complete submission [to God] and following [His commandments], not Islam as an established religious tradition. In all these instances, the real purport of the Infallibles’ statement is: ‘loyalty and obedience to the Infallibles (a)’. Thus the interpretation offered by some Sunni ḥadīth scholars that the statement means: ‘it is not from our etiquette or our way’ is incorrect.