From this arise many sects of innovation and misguidance. One group reviled and cursed the early generations because they believed that they had committed sins and that whoever committed such sins deserved to be cursed. They might even declare them sinful or unbelievers, as did the Khawārij, who declared ʿAlī ibn Abī Tālib, ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān, and their supporters unbelievers, cursed and reviled them, and considered it lawful to fight them. These are the people of whom the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“Any one of you would consider his prayer insignificant compared with theirs, his fasting compared with theirs, and his recitation compared with theirs. They recite the Quran, but it does not go beyond their throats. They pass out of Islam as an arrow passes through a hunted animal.”

He also said, may Allah bless him and grant him peace:

“A group will break away at a time of division among the Muslims, and the more deserving of the two parties will fight them for the sake of the truth.”

These were the renegades who broke away from the Commander of the Faithful, ʿAlī ibn Abī Tālib, and declared everyone who supported him an unbeliever. The believers had divided into two parties: one with ʿAlī and the other with Muʿāwiyah. These renegades fought ʿAlī and his companions, and events unfolded just as the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had foretold. Likewise, it is authentically reported from him in the Sahīh that he said of his son al-Hasan:

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

Allah thus reconciled the supporters of ʿAlī and the supporters of Muʿāwiyah through him. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, praised al-Hasan for this reconciliation, which he brought about, and called him a leader on that account, because what al-Hasan did was loved and approved by Allah and His Messenger. Had the fighting that took place among the Muslims been what Allah and His Messenger commanded, this would not have been the case. Rather, al-Hasan would have abandoned what was obligatory, or what was more beloved to