who dwell in Greater Syria—a narration recorded in the Musnad on the authority of ʿAlī (may Allah honor his countenance). Yet the isnād is broken and the report cannot be deemed sound. Moreover, it is well known that ʿAlī and the Companions who stood with him were superior to Muʿāwiyah and those who were with him in Syria; hence the best of people could not possibly be found in Muʿāwiyah’s camp to the exclusion of ʿAlī’s.

Both al-Bukhārī and Muslim relate, through Abū Saʿīd, that the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—said:

“A faction will break away from the religion at a time when the Muslims are divided; they will be slain by the party that is nearer to the truth.”

Those who broke away were the Harūriyyah Khārijites, who rebelled when discord erupted among the Muslims during ʿAlī’s caliphate, and ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib and his companions fought and killed them. This authentic ḥadīth therefore shows that ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib was closer to the truth than Muʿāwiyah and his followers. How, then, could the abdāl (Substitutes) be placed in the lesser of the two armies rather than in the superior one?

Likewise, what some people transmit, claiming that the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—recited when prompted by a poet:

“The serpent of passion has stung my very liver…”

is equally unfounded.