Minhaj as-Sunnah - Ibn Taimiya - (4/383)

Minhaj as-SunnahIbn Taimiya

his army until they stood their ground against them and defeated them (1).

Ali was superior to Muāwiya and higher in rank, and the truth was more on his side, as everyone agreed. Muāwiya’s army knew that Ali was superior to him and had a greater right to rule (2). The only one [among them] (3) who denied this was an obstinate man or one whose heart had been blinded by desire.

Before the arbitration of the two arbiters, Muāwiya had not claimed the caliphate for himself or assumed the title Commander of the Faithful. Rather, he only (4) claimed [it] (5) after the two arbiters had rendered their decision. More than one man in Muāwiya’s army would say to him, “Why do you fight Ali when you possess neither his precedence nor his merit (6), nor his status as the Prophet’s son-in-law, and he has a greater right to rule than you?” Muāwiya would acknowledge this to them.

They nevertheless fought alongside Muāwiya because they believed that Ali’s army had within it (7) wrongdoers who would attack them just as they had attacked Uthmān, and that they were fighting those men to repel their aggression against them (8). It is permissible to fight an aggressor. For this reason, they did not initiate the fighting against them; rather, it was the other side that began it.

Hence al-Ashtar al-Nakhaī said, “They are prevailing over us because we were the ones who initiated hostilities against them—initiated hostilities against them” (9).

Ali—may Allah be pleased with him—was unable to subdue the wrongdoers in the two armies, and did not

(1) N, W, H, and R read: “until they stood their ground against them or defeated them”; A and B read: “until they stood their ground against them and defeated them.” (2) B reads: “superior to him and more entitled to rule than he was.” These phrases are omitted from A. (3) “Among them” is omitted from N and M. (4) A and B read: “and only.” (5) “That” is omitted from N and M. (6) A reads: “Why should we fight Ali alongside you when you have no precedence and do not possess his merit?” B reads: “Why should we fight Ali alongside you when you possess neither his precedence nor his merit?” (7) A and B read: “among them.” (8) N and M read: “they fight to repel their attack against him”; S reads: “they fight them to repel their attack against them.” (9) This is the reading in A and B. All the other manuscripts read: “we initiate fighting against them.”

عَسْكَرَهُ، حَتَّى قَاوَمُوهُمْ وَغَلَبُوهُمْ (١) . ، وَعَلِيٌّ أَفْضَلُ مِنْهُ وَأَعْلَى دَرَجَةً، وَهُوَ أَوْلَى بِالْحَقِّ مِنْهُ بِاتِّفَاقِ النَّاسِ، وَعَسْكَرُ مُعَاوِيَةَ يَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّ عَلِيًّا أَفْضَلُ مِنْهُ وَأَحَقُّ بِالْأَمْرِ (٢) . ، وَلَا يُنْكِرُ ذَلِكَ [مِنْهُمْ] (٣) . إِلَّا مُعَانِدٌ أَوْ مَنْ أَعْمَى الْهَوَى قَلْبَهُ. وَلَمْ يَكُنْ مُعَاوِيَةُ قَبْلَ تَحْكِيمِ الْحَكَمَيْنِ يَدَّعِي الْأَمْرَ لِنَفْسِهِ، وَلَا يَتَسَمَّى بِأَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ، بَلْ إِنَّمَا (٤) . ادَّعَى [ذَلِكَ] (٥) بَعْدَ حُكْمِ الْحَكَمَيْنِ، وَكَانَ غَيْرُ وَاحِدٍ مِنْ عَسْكَرِ مُعَاوِيَةَ يَقُولُ لَهُ: لِمَ ذَا؟ تَقَاتُلُ عَلِيًّا وَلَيْسَ لَكَ سَابِقَتُهُ وَلَا فَضْلُهُ (٦) . وَلَا صِهْرُهُ، وَهُوَ أَوْلَى بِالْأَمْرِ مِنْكَ؟ فَيَعْتَرِفُ لَهُمْ مُعَاوِيَةُ بِذَلِكَ. لَكِنْ قَاتَلُوا مَعَ مُعَاوِيَةَ لِظَنِّهِمْ أَنَّ عَسْكَرَ عَلِيٍّ فِيهِ (٧) . ظَلَمَةٌ يَعْتَدُونَ عَلَيْهِمْ كَمَا اعْتَدَوْا عَلَى عُثْمَانَ، وَأَنَّهُمْ يُقَاتِلُونَهُمْ دَفْعًا لِصِيَالِهِمْ عَلَيْهِمْ (٨) . ، وَقِتَالُ الصَّائِلِ جَائِزٌ، وَلِهَذَا لَمْ يَبْدَءُوهُمْ بِالْقِتَالِ حَتَّى بَدَأَهُمْ أُولَئِكَ. وَلِهَذَا قَالَ الْأَشْتَرُ النَّخَعِيُّ: إِنَّهُمْ يَنْصُرُونَ عَلَيْنَا لِأَنَّا نَحْنُ بَدَأْنَاهُمْ بَدَأْنَاهُمْ: (٩) وَعَلِيٌّ - رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ - كَانَ عَاجِزًا عَنْ قَهْرِ الظَّلَمَةِ مِنَ الْعَسْكَرَيْنِ، وَلَمْ

(١) ن، و، هـ، ر: حَتَّى قَاوَمُوهُمْ أَوْ غَلَبُوهُمْ ; أ، ب: إِلَى أَنْ قَاوَمُوهُمْ وَغَلَبُوهُمْ (٢) ب: أَفْضَلُ وَأَحَقُّ بِالْأَمْرِ مِنْهُ. وَسَقَطَتْ هَذِهِ الْعِبَارَاتُ مِنْ (أ) (٣) مِنْهُمْ: سَاقِطَةٌ مِنْ (ن) ، (م) (٤) أ، ب: وَإِنَّمَا (٥) ذَلِكَ: سَاقِطَةٌ مِنْ (ن) ، (م) . (٦) أ: لِمَ ذَا نُقَاتِلُ مَعَكَ عَلِيًّا وَلَيْسَ لَكَ سَابِقَةٌ وَلَا فَضِيلَتُهُ ; ب: لِمَاذَا نُقَاتِلُ مَعَكَ عَلِيًّا وَلَيْسَ لَكَ سَابِقَتُهُ وَلَا فَضْلُهُ (٧) أ، ب: فِيهِمْ (٨) ن، م: يُقَاتِلُونَ دَفْعًا لِصِيَالِهِمْ عَلَيْهِ ; ص: يُقَاتِلُونَهُمْ دَفْعًا لِصِيَالَتِهِمْ عَلَيْهِمْ (٩) كَذَا فِي (أ) ، (ب) . وَفِي سَائِرِ النُّسَخِ: نَبْدَأُهُمْ. بِالْقِتَالِ.