Is the book (Al-Imamah wa Al-Siyasah) by Ibn Qutaybah al-Dinawari authored by him, or attributed to him? And are its contents accurate, or should they be rejected? And how did it become an important source for historians if it is rejected? And is there an authentic version of it that clarifies what is true from what is fabricated?

The book "Al-Imamah wa Al-Siyasah" (Leadership and Politics) cannot be authentically attributed to Ibn Qutaybah, and researchers have clarified this with clear evidence. Sheikh Dr. Ali Nafie Al-Olayan believes that the author of the book is a malicious Shiite (Rafidi), basing his conclusion on the author's glorification of the idea of hereditary caliphate for the Ahl al-Bayt, his severe denigration of the Companions, his praise of Al-Mukhtar ibn Abi Ubayd, and his abridgment of the history of the Rightly Guided Caliphs while focusing on sedition (fitna).

Furthermore, Sheikh Mashhoor Hasan (definition) Salman added other proofs for the inaccuracy of attributing the book to Ibn Qutaybah, including: the book's absence from Ibn Qutaybah's biographies, the author's mention of being in Damascus while Ibn Qutaybah did not leave Baghdad except for Dinawar, the author's narration from figures who predated Ibn Qutaybah's birth by many years, in addition to obvious historical errors that could not have originated from a historian like Ibn Qutaybah. A large number of researchers and verifiers have definitively affirmed the invalidity of attributing the book to Ibn Qutaybah.