Not surprisingly, the PDF has drawn fierce opposition. Mainstream Sunni organizations, including some leaders within and Muhammadiyah , have criticized Rakhmat’s methodology. His background as a prominent convert to Shi’ism (he is a leading figure of the Indonesian Shia community) is often used to dismiss his work as heterodox.

In the crowded digital lanes of Indonesian social media—where religious lectures, motivational quotes, and political memes collide—a single PDF file has quietly become a phenomenon. Its title is deceptively simple: Ayat-Ayat Kiri (Leftist Verses). But for those who have downloaded, shared, or condemned it, the document is nothing less than a theological hand grenade.

Through a lens of —heavily inspired by Latin American thinkers like Leonardo Boff and the Shi’ite intellectual Ali Shariati—Rakhmat argues that the Qur’an’s true verses are not "rightist" (defending the status quo, the rich, and the powerful). Instead, he claims, the real verses are leftist: they champion the poor ( mustadh’afin ), condemn tyranny, and demand social justice.