none of the Companions were among them, nor did any Companion forbid fighting them. In the Sahīh, Abū Sa‘īd reports that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“A faction will break away at a time of division among the Muslims, and the party with the stronger claim to the truth will kill them.”

Another wording reads: “the closer of the two parties to the truth.”

This authentic hadith establishes that ‘Alī and his companions were closer to the truth than Mu‘āwiya and his companions. It also establishes that the ruling concerning that faction which passed out of Islam differs from the ruling concerning either of the two parties. Indeed, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, commanded that this breakaway faction be fought and emphatically reiterated that command. He did not command fighting either of the two parties as he commanded fighting this faction.

Rather, it is authentically reported from him in the Sahīh, in the hadith of Abū Bakra, that he said of al-Hasan:

“This son of mine is a leader, and through him Allah will reconcile two great parties of Muslims.”

He thus praised and commended al-Hasan for the reconciliation Allah brought about through him between the two parties when he abandoned fighting, although allegiance had already been pledged to him. He chose the better course and spared bloodshed, relinquishing authority in the process. Had fighting been commanded, the Prophet would not have praised and commended al-Hasan for abandoning what Allah had commanded and doing what Allah had forbidden.

Scholars take two approaches to fighting those among the people of the qiblah who warrant being fought:

Some regard all the fighting at Harūrā’, the Battle of the Camel, and Siffīn as falling under the category of fighting rebels. They likewise classify Abū Bakr’s fighting against those who withheld zakat, as well as fighting all the others who were fought among those professing allegiance to the qiblah, as stated by those who discussed this