imply that any one of them was bereft of one or another of these exculpatory factors; and even were such a thing to occur, it would in no way undermine their overall authority as imams.

For we do not hold these men to be infallible. We grant that they may commit sins, yet we still hope for them the highest ranks because of the righteous deeds and noble states with which Allah favored them, and because they never persisted in any sin. Nor are they higher in rank than the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them.

The same verdict applies to everything they undertook through ijtihad—be it legal opinions, judicial verdicts, or the bloodshed that took place among them, and to all similar matters.

Further, although we know that the person who refrained under the circumstances described is excused—indeed rewarded—this does not prevent us from acting upon sound hadiths for which we know of no opposing evidence, nor from holding that the ummah is obligated to implement them and to convey them. On this point there is no disagreement among the scholars.

These hadiths fall into two categories. First are the definitive reports upon which the scholars unanimously agree in both knowledge and practice: those whose chain of transmission and text are certain, such that we are certain the Messenger of Allah ﷺ uttered them and intended them for that very case.

Second are the reports whose indication is apparent yet not definitive. As for the first category, one must affirm and act upon what it entails, and on this foundational principle the scholars are, in general, unanimous.