Ali b. Haska and al-Qasim al-Yaqtini

I wrote to him [the Imam al-Askari – the following]: this is about a group who speak of narrations which they attribute to you and your forefathers, the contents of which repel the hearts, but it is not permissible for us to repudiate them as they are narrated on the authority of your forefathers, nor can we accept them because of what they purport … and it is a man called Ali b. Haska and another called al-Qasim al-Yaqtini. Among their beliefs is that they say the words of Allah the Elevated: “verily Salat safeguards from indecency and wrong-doing” (29:45) refers to a man [Salat is embodied in a man], not to prostration nor to bowing. Similarly, Zakat refers to that man, not to a set number of gold coins nor to the giving out of wealth. They have done likewise in regards injunctions concerning the obligatory, the recommended and the forbidden – they have interpreted and transformed it in a way akin to that which I have mentioned. So if you deem it proper to clarify for us and to favour your followers by that in which lies their safety and salvation from these beliefs which can lead them to perdition [then do so]. So he عليه السلام wrote: this is not our religion therefore disassociate from it.