between them. Moreover, it is not permissible to fight them if those with them are unwilling to fight, for they frequently opposed him and showed little obedience to him.
The point is that this hadith does not permit cursing any of the Companions, nor does it establish that any of them is an evildoer. As for the Prophet’s household, they were never reviled, praise be to Allah. Al-Hajjāj did not kill anyone from Banū Hāshim; rather, he killed men from the Arab nobility. He had married a daughter of ‘Abd Allāh ibn Ja‘far, but Banū ‘Abd Manāf, Banū Hāshim and Banū Umayyah disapproved of this and brought about their separation, since they did not consider him a suitable match for her. Allah knows best.
He—may Allah have mercy on him—was asked:
What is Allah’s ruling concerning outbreaks of civil strife among righteous people and similar cases, in which they kill one another and violate one another’s sanctity?
He answered:
Praise be to Allah. Such outbreaks of civil strife and the like are among the gravest prohibitions and the greatest evils. Allah Most High says:
“O you who believe, fear Allah as He should be feared, and do not die except as Muslims.”
“And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided. And remember the favour of Allah