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and more excellent, and, among those who differ, which of them is closer to truth and guidance. Justice operates in every field, both in its theoretical understanding and its practical application—medicine, mathematics, jurisprudence, and the like—so that, once knowledge and fairness are present, it becomes impossible to say: “Galen was a physician, whereas Hippocrates was not,” or to claim: “Timaeus was a philosopher, whereas Aristotle was not,” or to maintain: “al-Akhfash was a grammarian, whereas Sibawayh was not,” or to assert: “Zufar, al-Hasan ibn Ziyad, and Muhammad ibn al-Hasan were jurists, whereas Abu Hanifah was not,” or that Ashhab
وَأَفْضَلُ، وَفِي الْمُخْتَلِفِينَ أَيُّهُمْ أَوْلَى بِالْحَقِّ وَالْهُدَى، وَالْعَدْلُ مَوْجُودٌ فِي سَائِرِ الْأُمُورِ عِلْمِهَا وَعَمَلِهَا، كَعِلْمِ الطِّبِّ وَالْحِسَابِ وَالْفِقْهِ وَغَيْرِ ذَلِكَ، فَيَمْتَنِعُ - مَعَ الْعِلْمِ وَالْعَدْلِ -
أَنْ يُقَالَ:
جَالِينُوسُ كَانَ طَبِيبًا، وَأَبُقْرَاطُ لَمْ يَكُنْ طَبِيبًا،
أَوْ أَنْ يُقَالَ:
تَامِيطُمْيُوسُ كَانَ فَيْلَسُوفًا، وَأَرِسْطُو لَمْ يَكُنْ فَيْلَسُوفًا،
أَوْ أَنْ يُقَالَ:
الْأَخْفَشُ كَانَ نَحْوِيًّا وَسِيبَوَيْهِ لَمْ يَكُنْ نَحْوِيًّا،
أَوْ أَنْ يُقَالَ:
زُفَرُ وَالْحَسَنُ بْنُ زِيَادٍ وَمُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْحَسَنِ كَانُوا فُقَهَاءَ، وَأَبُو حَنِيفَةَ لَمْ يَكُنْ فَقِيهًا، أَوْ أَنَّ أَشْهَبَ