A great many people came after Muʿāwiyah who loved him, went to extremes on his behalf, and preferred him to others. Some he had won over through generosity, forbearance, and lavish gifts; others were simply born in Syria upon love for him, and their children were reared on the same.

Among that throng was a small number of Companions, together with many Successors and distinguished men. They fought at his side against the people of Iraq and were nurtured on what later came to be called nasb (hostility toward ʿAlī)—we seek refuge with Allah from the pull of passion.

Likewise, the army of ʿAlī (may Allah be pleased with him) and his subjects—Khārijites excepted—were brought up to love him, stand with him, detest those who rebelled against him, and disown them. Some of them (1) took Shiʿite partisanship to excess.

By Allah, what is to be expected of someone raised in a province where he seldom meets anyone but an extremist in love or one excessive in hate? Whence will such a person acquire fairness and moderation?

We therefore praise Allah for the well-being He has granted us: He has placed us in a time when the truth has been sifted out and made manifest on both sides. We know the grounds on which each of the two camps stood; we have reflected, excused, sought forgiveness, loved in measured fashion, and asked mercy for the rebels on the basis of a generally admissible interpretation—or, Allah willing, for an error that will be forgiven. And we have said, as Allah has taught us: “Our Lord, forgive us and our brothers who preceded us in faith, and do not place in our hearts any rancor toward those who believe” (al-Hashr 10).

We also invoke Allah’s pleasure upon those who kept aloof from both parties—Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ, Ibn ʿUmar, Muḥammad ibn Maslamah, Saʿīd ibn Zayd, and many others.

At the same time we disavow the renegade Khārijites who fought ʿAlī and pronounced both parties unbelievers. The Khārijites are the “dogs of Hellfire,” having shot out of the religion; yet even so, we do not categorically declare that they will dwell in Hell forever, as we do in the case of idol- and cross-worshippers.

Among the fabricated absurdities is the report narrated from Wāthilah, traced back to the Prophet: “If it were not for his forbearance and his trustworthiness with regard to my Lord’s words, Muʿāwiyah was almost sent as a prophet.”